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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 31 No.28
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Imagine an Austin arts and cultural center,
May x, 2017
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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Meett T M Talei li Thompson, page 3
Mt. Sinai to close children’s trauma center The N. Lawndale hospital will also end inpatient pediatric services by end of August By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
North Lawndale’s Mount Sinai Hospital is planning to end its inpatient pediatric services and to close its inpatient pediatric trauma center by the end of August. According to a Chicago Tribune report, the hospital said that the decision to close the center was driven by low demand and a desire to spend its resources elsewhere. Only about six out of the hospital’s 24 pediatric inpatient beds are usually occupied, according to the Tribune report. Mt. Sinai will continue to provide outpatient pediatric care, and its trauma center will still be open to patients over 16 years old. Moreover, other West Side hospitals may be able to pick up the slack. The hospital’s website described Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital as a place where families can get access to “a full range of care in inpatient and outpatient settings.” Inpatient service is when a patient is admitted to the hospital, while outpatient service is when a patient comes into the hospital to get treatment and leaves. Mount Sinai’s emergency room is certified as Level I Pediatric Trauma Center – which means that it provides the most comprehensive and extensive care possible. As of 2015, there were only three trauma centers of this kind in the state. Since then, the University of Chicago announced that it would open its own Level 1 trauma center in 2018, but it isn’t geared toward children. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Mt. Sinai plans to use the space that will be freed as a result of the closure to expand its cardiac and medical intensive care, as well as inpatient behavioral health services. See MT. SINAI on page 6
WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
‘Get in position’
Goats roam the grounds of the Glenn Art Farm in Austin on Saturday morning, July 8, while people do yoga. Goat yoga is a nationwide trend that’s come to the West Side. More photos on page 4.
West Side residents say soda tax will hurt poor blacks The tax has been temporarily blocked by a judge
By WENDELL HUTSON Contributing Reporter
The Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax Ordinance has yet to take effect but when it does, some West Side consumers say they plan to buy less sugary drinks
like pop and juice. The tax, which Cook County officials estimate would generate $200 million a year, adds 1 cent per ounce for sugary beverages. “I think the beverage tax is ridiculous but this is how they [lawmakers] make their money,” said Albert Sims, an
Austin resident. “The [elected officials] know blacks drink a lot of pop and juice and that’s why these drinks are targeted. But I’m sure there will be another tax this year that affects us blacks even
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See SODA TAX on page 4