Part I: Background -- Cultural Transformation -- Creating an Oasis in a Trauma Desert: The South Side’s Fight for an Adult Trauma Center at the University of Chicago Medicine -- Part II: Development of Trauma Ctr -- Team Building -- Implementation Operating Room Preparation and Trauma -- Creating Trauma Nurses -- The Violence Recovery Program: The Development and Implementation of a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program in a Level One Trauma Center on the South Side of Chicago -- Part III: Departmental Contributions -- Neuro Trauma -- Orthopedic Trauma -- Vascular Trauma -- Integration of PM&R Consultation Services at a Level 1 Trauma Center -- Penetrating Pediatric Trauma -- Opening a Modern Trauma Center at UChicago Medicine: Ob-Gyn and the Pregnant Trauma Patient -- Interventional Radiology: Here Comes Trauma! -- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) -- UCAN: AIR MEDICAL TRANSPORT AND THE TRANSFER OF THE TRAUMA PATIENT -- Trauma Chaplaincy an Integration of Care -- Part IV: Protocol Development -- Transfusion Support for a New Adult Level 1 Trauma Center: Evolution of a Blood Bank -- Mass Casualty Events: Preparedness and Response for Trauma Centers and Institutions -- Navigating Roadblocks - Challenges of Opening a New Surgical Intensive Care Unit -- Examining the Hospital as A Complex Dynamical System: Using Agent-Based Modeling to Gain Insight Into Potential Process Bottlenecks -- Part V: Partnerships -- Opening a Modern Trauma Center at UChicago Medicine: Residency perspective and partnerships -- Creating a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship -- Building a Trauma Fellowships -- Military Civilian Partnership at the University of Chicago Trauma Center -- The Making of a Medical-Legal Partnership in a Level I Trauma Center: Recovery Legal Care -- The Cold Call -- Part VI: Perspective -- Faculty development in an academic trauma center -- Surgical Ethics in Trauma -- Structural Violence in Trauma Care -- The Transformative Impact of the University of Chicago Level 1 Trauma Center Opening on Student and Trainee Experiences -- From Mission to Impact: Reflecting on the Trauma Center's Journey -- Future Directions.

Violence and trauma are growing global problems. From the impacts of geopolitical forces to structural violence to the local effects of interpersonal violence, trauma is ubiquitous in our society. Existing trauma systems everywhere are expanding to meet the needs of injured patients. Unfortunately, in some places, adequate resources are not in place to provide modern trauma care. Until very recently, this absence of resources existed on the South Side of Chicago. For three decades, the South Side of Chicago was a relative trauma “desert”. In 2018, the University of Chicago Medicine opened a modern adult trauma center in an area that previously suffered from a relative lack of access to adult trauma care. This book will provide the reader with an understanding of the journey the University of Chicago went through to develop a modern trauma center where there previously was nothing. It will chart a journey through the history on the South Side of Chicago and will provide an understanding of the proper needs assessment that goes into planning a new trauma center. It will describe the implementation of the multi-disciplinary teams needed to provide modern trauma care. It will then describe the effects of this trauma center and its future directions. As many places are struggling with caring for increasing levels of violence, there likely will be a need for others to go through a similar developmental process. Sharing the experience of the University of Chicago Medicine going from a non-trauma hospital to the busiest trauma center in Chicago, we hope that this book will provide some guidance to others and accompany you on one’s journey.