Opening in the fall of that year, the building comprised the Abbott Memorial Hall and the Albert Merritt Billings Hospital, a 215-bed facility.

At the time, the decision was made because the trauma center was losing a large amount of money and taking away resources from other specialties.

[8] A campaign for a new adult level 1 trauma center surfaced after the death of Damian Turner, an 18-year-old who was killed by gunshot in August 2010.

[9] Hospital representatives have said that building an adult trauma center would compromise the other distinct and critically important services for the community, such as The South Side's only level 1 trauma center for children, the South Side's only burn unit, its emergency departments for adults and children and the neonatal intensive care unit.

[10] Protesters have suggested that The University of Chicago should not be seeking financial support to attract the presidential library of Barack Obama without first committing to reopening an adult trauma facility.

University of Chicago Medicine consists of: The 2010 rankings by U.S. News & World Report included the following 11 adult medical specialties: digestive disorders (6), cancer (15), endocrinology (18), kidney disease (21), respiratory disorders (21), heart (27), urology (28), geriatrics (29), gynecology (34), neurology and neurosurgery (36) and, ear, nose, and throat (38).