Congressman seeking funds for trauma centers

Congressman Bobby Rush says he has introduced legislation seeking funds to build hospital trauma centers in places that need them the most, like Chicago’s South Side.

Rush says the proposed Trauma Act would get federal money for Trauma One centers in areas where gunshot wound patients are numerous.

Dr. William Dorsey of Jackson Park Hospital on the South Side says his emergency room sees 25,000 patients a year. Because it’s a community hospital, it doesn’t handle patients with gunshot wounds, noting the nearest Trauma One center is miles away.

Dorsey said Monday that travel times to trauma centers must be reduced.

Studies have shown gunshot patients who are more than five miles from a Trauma One hospital have a higher mortality rate than those with shorter travel times.