HYDE PARK — Activists on Wednesday accused the University of Chicago of dragging its feet on changes to the trauma center at Comer Children’s Hospital promised a year ago.
In December 2014, the university announced it would raise the age limit at Comer to 17 years old from the current 15 years old and protesters said Wednesday the university should be further along if its serious about living up to that commitment.
“The next step is for them to hire people and get it set up to receive patients, and they have yet to do that,” said Alex Goldenberg, an organizer with Fearless Leadership by the Youth, which has been pressing the university for more resources to treat the victims of serious injuries like gunshot wounds and car crashes since 2010.
The group planned a rally in front of Comer Children’s Hospital, 5721 S. Maryland Ave., on Wednesday evening in a public call for the university to finish the job of raising the age limit for the trauma center.
The university said it has been working on the proposal since it drafted a plan a year ago and is still waiting on state approval.
“In December 2014, we submitted an application to raise our pediatric age for approval and continue to work with the regional trauma network on how this can best benefit the community through the overall Chicago trauma care system,” said Lorna Wong, a spokeswoman for the university’s hospital.
In September, the university announced a partnership with Sinai Health System to develop a trauma center at Holy Cross Hospital, which would also be able to treat 16- and 17-year-old patients with serious injuries.
Documents submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health show the university had a plan ready in March to expand services at Comer, a plan it said it would roll out within a year of getting state approval.
Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the state health department , said the university has told the state that it still needs to hire and train more staff.
“The Illinois Department of Public Health has not yet been notified that the University of Chicago Medical Center is fully prepared to implement its proposal,” Arnold said. “IDPH review is the very last step after all requirements are fully in place.”
She said the university also still needs to work with the other hospitals providing similar care to update policies for how ambulances triage injured patients between different trauma centers before the state will approve changes at Comer.
Patti Lindeman, the emergency medical system coordinator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital who said she was familiar with the discussions between the hospitals, said medical directors at Northwestern, Advocate Masonic Medical Center, John H. Stroger Hospital and the University of Chicago Medicine are still reviewing the proposed change at Comer.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
