Trauma & Emergency Services

The University of Chicago Medicine is designated as a Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, meaning the hospital is prepared to handle the most seriously injured trauma patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Together with its Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center at Comer Children's Hospital and its Burn and Complex Wound Center, UChicago Medicine is able to provide the community a comprehensive system of care to treat the full range of trauma injuries in patients of all ages.

Learn more about the surgeons leading our Level I Trauma Center

UChicago Medicine began providing Level 1 adult trauma care in 2018, nearly 30 years after discontinuing the program. The academic medical center has offered Level 1 pediatric trauma care since 1990. Read more about the adult trauma center's first five years.

The institution is home to the South Side of Chicago's only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and the University of Chicago Medicine Aeromedical Network (UCAN), which provides helicopter transportation from the scene of an emergency to our Hyde Park campus or between hospitals within a 200-mile radius.

Through our Urban Health Initiative, we are partnering with and supporting community organizations to provide trauma patients and their families with wraparound services, violence recovery efforts and other services that ensure they can recover from traumatic injuries.

Our Services

We provide trauma surgery, acute care surgery and critical care surgery to treat injuries involving:

• Burns
• Blunt trauma, which can occur from falls or pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes
• Penetrating trauma, typically seen in gunshot or stab wounds

Road Closures and Construction

Beginning Thursday, April 3, construction crews will close a portion of Maryland Avenue in front of the adult Emergency Department (ED) entrance. The closure is expected to last approximately four months as crews construct a new bridge connecting the Cancer Pavilion to Parking Garage B.

This work will require a full closure of both northbound and southbound traffic on Maryland Avenue, just north of 57th Street.

During this time:

• Pedestrian traffic will not be impacted. The adult ED entrance will remain open.
• The northernmost portion of the intersection of 57th Street and Maryland Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic on Maryland Avenue.
• Access to and from Parking B on Maryland Avenue will remain in place from 56th Street, with occasional exceptions.