CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon says she is marshaling forces to possibly bring another trauma center to the south suburbs.
Gordon says someone with a gunshot wound or other critical emergency could face a long ambulance ride and possibly be delayed at one of several rail crossings in the area.
She's calling for another trauma center to be created further south than the existing Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. She's not asking for another new facility.
“The cost on that, we aren’t able to defray…We’re talking about adding to a facility, such as Ingalls [Memorial Hospital] or St. James Franciscan [in] Olympia Fields,” Gordon says.
First she says there must be a study to determine costs and feasibility, and she's gathering allies.
“[We] want to figure out a dollar amount. We want to collaborate with the other elected stakeholders…not just in the community but outside the community,” Gordon says.
Commissioner Dennis Deer, who chairs the County Health and Hospitals committee, is said to already be on board.