Vice does a segment on South Chicago - Chiraq (Brooklyn: low income, health insurance)

[astroia 34567]

My first question why the hell does someone shot by a gun in the Southside have to go all the way to north Chicago to be treated and wait over 30 minutes for critical care???? In New York City even in Bushwick/Bed-Stuy/Brownsville there are hospitals that will treat. I know it is money as gunshot injuries are uninsured (well for those plans usually middle and low income people can get) - which it should not be. Maybe the first step to reducing gun violence is to make gun injuries eligible for health insurance - then suddenly the large corporate insurers will say **** we have to pay out of pocket for violence from bad policies and lax gun laws????

Such a tactic in a way has reduced cigarette smoking as insurance companies will pay for chemo treatment for lung cancer - even if the person was a heavy smoker as the cause for lung cancer can be from industrial pollution and natural radioactive pollutants such as radon - for guns there is accidental injury.

VICE on HBO - Episode 9 | VICE United States

[chet everett]

Depending on where the incident took place and what the "status" of the closest regional level 1 trauma centers was (if all the trauma surgeons are busy at Chirst , Mt. Sinai, or Stroger then you gotta go to Masonic) but the general distance is not too bad all things considered: Illinois Trauma Centers

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by astroia 34567

My first question why the hell does someone shot by a gun in the Southside have to go all the way to north Chicago to be treated and wait over 30 minutes for critical care????

They don't. What's your next question?

[astroia 34567]

Well how far are some of those nearby trauma centers to places such as Englewood?

I think if there is erroneous info in this segment Chicagoans should correct it. Vice is based in Brooklyn - Williamsburg - so their view may be skewed.

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by astroia 34567

Vice is based in Brooklyn - Williamsburg - so their view may be skewed.

Ya think?

[astroia 34567]

No I don't they actually have done some good work. Nevertheless, the crime problem in the areas they profile is quite well known. If I say East New York and Brownsville you will automatically assume the whole area is rife with gunshots day in and day out, which is not entirely true. There are safe islands with good housing stock.

Sarcasm is easy, sincere questioning is a little harder as it requires you to take your time and think. So, on my end pardon the rather aggressive language of my initial question. Oh and the term Chiraq is an invention of your fellow Chicagoans, not Vice.

[nearnorth]

Okay.

[rparz]

If I was shot, I'd want to go to Mt. Sainai. Even though its not the cleanest place, when your surgeon handles multiple gunshots a week with his nurses, they probably know what they're doing.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by astroia 34567

Well how far are some of those nearby trauma centers to places such as Englewood?

I think if there is erroneous info in this segment Chicagoans should correct it. Vice is based in Brooklyn - Williamsburg - so their view may be skewed.

Anyone who uses the term "Chiraq" is an idiot. It wasn't coined by Chicagoans, it grew out of right wing blogs that started to claim that Chicago was more dangerous than Iraq in 2008. Within Chicago it is only used by gangbangers who think it makes them look tough, or by politicians and community activists who are trying to bring more attention to a real problem they feel has been ignored.

Obviously no sane person is going to compare military casualty rates to civilian casualty rates. You can only compare civilian casualty rates to civilian casualty rates or military casualty rates to military casualty rates.

Chicago has had a total of zero armed and on patrol service members killed during the period being discussed. Iraq has had between 110,000 to 150,000 civilians killed during this time period. Recently Iraq has been more peaceful (compared to the peak of the conflict), but they've had over 600 civilian casualties in August alone. Monthly civilian casualties were in the thousands at the peak of the fighting.

Stroger and Mt. Sinai are the closest level 1 trauma centers, they're about 6-7 miles from Englewood. Neither is on the North side. That episode of Vice is so full of inaccuracies it's hard to know where to begin.

[nearnorth]

I've lived in Chicago for many years and had never even heard the term "Chiraq" until this thread. I guess I don't read enough right wing blogs. That combined with the obvious lack of knowledge of local hospitals (which could have been found with a simple Google search) made it quite difficult to take anything the OP said seriously.