Humikowski, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago and medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at its Comer Children鈥檚 Hospital, wrote a in the Chicago Tribune this fall. In it, she shared observations on the devastating impact of gun violence through the eyes of a physician in the South Side鈥檚 only pediatric level 1 trauma center.
"Unlike other diseases we commonly treat in the intensive care unit where I work, this affliction has no cure,鈥� said Humikowski. 鈥淲e have a public responsibility to keep our children healthy and safe. We can鈥檛 do this if we don鈥檛 understand how. It鈥檚 time to resume real research so that we can work toward a cure.鈥�
So far in 2016, more than 150 shootings have been reported in the Chicago. In 2015, there were almost 3,000 shootings and 468 fatalities, . At Comer Children鈥檚 Hospital, 39 children were treated for gunshot wounds in 2015 at the facility鈥檚 Level 1trauma center.
Humikowski has received tremendous response from residents, health care providers and public officials from the essay since it was published in October.
Durbin held the press conference at the KLEO community center in the South Side鈥檚 Washington Park neighborhood a week after President Barack Obama announced executive action to strengthen gun control laws. Durbin is fighting to reverse a little-known provision that limits funding for federal health research into gun violence.
Other speakers at Thursday鈥檚 press conference included Chicago Alderman Willie Cochran, KLEO's executive director Rev. Torrey Barrett, and Pam Bosley, who lost her son to violence in 2006. Bosley went on to be the co-founder of Purpose Over Pain, an organization that advocates for stricter gun control and provides support for parents of murdered children.
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