Trauma & Burn
The Trauma Unit at Cook County Health is America’s first comprehensive center dedicated solely to the care of the acutely injured patient. Since 1966, the unit has served as a national model for trauma care.
The Cook County Trauma Unit is a Level I Trauma Center and one of the busiest in the country averaging more than 4,000 activations annually with 25% penetrating in nature. The trauma center has a self-contained 15-bed resuscitation area, 12-bed Trauma ICU, 10-bed step-down unit, and ward beds.
The Cook County Burn Unit, an American Burn Association verified center, has experienced staff operating within a 6-bed ICU, a 10-bed step-down unit, and a dedicated ward. We manage all aspects of burn care in adults and pediatric patient populations from initial resuscitation to complex reconstruction treating over 1,500 burns annually and admitting over 350 major burns.
Trauma at county
Our residents participate in dedicated trauma rotations during their PGY1-PGY4 years. Patients are cared for by the same team of physicians and nurses from their arrival in the resuscitation area throughout their hospital stay. Residents rotate between the resuscitation area, the Trauma ICU, and the Medical-Surgical floors during their rotation. Residents also complete a 2-week rotation on the Burn service, spending time in the Burn ICU and Burn Clinic, during their PGY1 year.
Residents can expect to work with other surgical, pediatric, and emergency medicine residents, medical students, and APPs from University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Resurrection Medical Center, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Franciscan Health the U.S. Navy, and more to provide a unique training experience in trauma medical care.
Healing hurt people
Healing Hurt People-Chicago (HHP-C) is our hospital-based violence intervention program (HBVIP) launched in August 2013 as a collaboration between the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (Stroger), The University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital (Comer), and the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at Drexel University in Philadelphia (Drexel). Through assessment, psycho-education, intensive case management, group therapy and mentoring, Healing Hurt People-Chicago helps youth who’ve been violently injured, so they can heal both physically and emotionally. Residents have the opportunity to get involved with this program and pursue scholarly activities with the HHPC team.
