A new report from the IL Department of Public Health shows a lack of trauma care in Southern IL.

66 hospitals in IL have been designated as trauma care centers, none of which are in our area.

Serious trauma cases often go to St. Louis or Evansville, and officials say that’s unacceptable when every second counts.

New guidelines from the Department of Public Health could make it easier to get a trauma center in the area, creating a third level of trauma care. That third level could be a level which local hospitals could reach more easily.