The reopening of the University of Chicago’s trauma center in 2018 led to a nearly 4 percent reduction in shooting deaths within its service area, according to a new national study published in JAMA Surgery.
Researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and Boston University found that mortality from firearm injuries decreased by 3.9 percent after the trauma center resumed operations. The rest of Chicago did not see a significant change during this period.
The findings mean that for every 1,000 people injured by gunfire within the service area, about 39 survived who might not have otherwise. Victims also traveled shorter distances and reached care more quickly after the center reopened.
Dr. Michael Poulson, a co-author and UChicago trauma surgery fellow, said to Block Club Chicago, “The trauma center’s reopening can be used as a case study for other cities to show that mortality can be improved.”
Average transport times for victims dropped by nine and a half minutes, and they traveled an average of 3.4 fewer miles to reach treatment. The study defined the service area as locations where UChicago’s trauma center was closest by travel time.
“When we think about a patient that comes into our trauma bay, we think about every minute mattering,” Poulson said. “If they need an operation, we get them up to the operating room as quickly as possible. It’s the same for transport time. Those minutes to a trauma center that can effectively treat victims of violence are extremely important.”
Researchers examined data from over 45,000 shooting incidents between 2010 and 2024 in Chicago; more than 19,000 occurred within the UChicago center’s service area on the South Side.
The decrease in death rate is notable because shootings were becoming more deadly before the center reopened. A report from The Trace indicated citywide odds of surviving gunshot wounds worsened during this period due to easier access to more lethal weapons.
Poulson suggested that without these broader trends—such as increased weapon lethality—the reduction in deaths could have been greater: “We’re very limited in the data we have and can’t make too many assumptions,” he said.
UChicago’s trauma center had closed in 1988; Michael Reese Hospital followed suit three years later amid rising burdens after UChicago’s closure. For nearly thirty years afterward, Advocate Christ Medical Center was left as the only Level I trauma facility near Chicago’s South Side.
“The closing of the trauma centers on the South Side represented further divestment in a vulnerable community, a societal wrong that was only righted after years of determined community organizing,” according to the JAMA Surgery study.
Following sustained advocacy by residents and activists—and initial opposition from university leadership—the UChicago trauma center reopened in 2018.
Previous research also found Black patients from low-income ZIP codes received quicker hospital care after reopening—a point often made by local advocates who campaigned for better access.
South Shore resident Jasamine “Tweak’G” Harris told Block Club two years after relaunch: “I’m happy that it’s getting even more attention… But we’ve already been saying this with our mouths and picket signs and … with actual bodies not making it back home.”
Poulson emphasized research like this may help convince health policymakers elsewhere: “I think, unfortunately, some people need data to show them the importance of opening trauma centers… particularly in trauma deserts that have a high burden of gun violence or any other types of traumatic injuries.”
He added that watching community organizing efforts succeed while he was away influenced his return for fellowship training at UChicago: “It was really inspiring for me to watch from afar.”
“We now have [years] of data, after the opening of the trauma center, to really show the effect of the trauma center on the community,” Poulson said.
