The University of Chicago Medicine has launched a novel program with Legal Aid Chicago, embedding two full-time lawyers within the health system’s Level 1 trauma center. The initiative, called Recovery Legal Care, will provide bedside civil legal help for patients and families recovering from violent injuries. The teams hope that by offering both trauma-informed and justice-informed care, patients will be able to focus on recovery instead of worrying about health-harming legal needs and economic stability.
“If we are to address violence on the South Side of Chicago, we must first investigate the justice gap that disproportionately affects our underprivileged communities of color,” said program co-director Selwyn Rogers, Jr., MD, MPH, Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and Founding Director of UChicago Medicine’s Level 1 trauma center.
Since the comprehensive trauma center began caring for adult patients in 2018, physician-scientists at UChicago Medicine have worked alongside public health researchers to determine the unique needs of trauma patients — particularly those injured through intentional gun violence. The team found that the South Side health system’s adult trauma patients ranked legal and financial needs as their primary concerns during violence recovery, higher than even medical or psychological support.
“People shouldn’t have to worry about getting their utilities shut off during a hospital stay or getting fired from their job,” said Elizabeth Tung, MD, MS, Recovery Legal Co-Director and a health disparities researcher. “There is a critical need to develop structural interventions that address the complex needs of trauma patients and their families.”
Recovery Legal Care, which is funded primarily through $2.6 million in federal grants awarded to UChicago Medicine’s trauma center, will spend the first year focusing on helping patients obtain public benefits and economic stability. After that, the team hopes to expand the pilot project to add assistance for housing, education and employment. The pilot project is expected to serve about 150 patients during its inaugural year.
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This story was first published by UChicago Medicine.
