The region's closest Level 1 trauma center -- at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Olympia Fields -- will discontinue service by July 1.

After that date, severely injured patients from Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs will have to be transported 14 additional miles north to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn or more than 22 miles to Chicago.

Seth Warren, president of St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights and Olympia Fields, said hospital officials decided to discontinue offering Level I trauma services because they couldn't staff the unit with the number of physician specialists required by Illinois law.

Level 1 trauma centers provide immediate treatment for patients with the most severe injuries, including spinal cord damage, gunshots, head trauma and severe blood loss. These trauma units require specialists -- including neurosurgeons and anesthesiologists -- to be at the hospital 24 hours every day. Other specialists need to be on call and able to arrive at the hospital in less than 30 minutes, Warren said.

"Some physicians told us they couldn't meet those requirements," he said.

Last year, the St. James Olympia Fields Level 1 trauma center, 20201 S. Crawford Ave., treated 1,103 severely injured patients.

Two-thirds of those needing Level I trauma care last year were from Northwest Indiana, some from as far away as St. Anthony Memorial in Michigan City, Warren said.

"It's a mixed bag" with most hospitals in Northwest Indiana transporting to the Olympia Fields facility, Warren said.

He said most patients come from St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers, Methodist Hospitals, The Community Hospital in Munster, St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart and St. Anthony Memorial.

Northwest Indiana, one of the most populated areas in the state, doesn't have a Level 1 trauma center. Indiana has Level 1 trauma centers scattered throughout the state with present locations in South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Evansville.

Discussions continue on constructing a Level 1 trauma center in Gary's Gleason Park area, possibly as a joint venture between Methodist Hospitals and Indiana University Medical School at IU Northwest. Officials with Porter Health Systems also are discussing a Level 1 trauma center for Porter County.

"Trauma in Northwest Indiana is a major issue," Methodist President and CEO Claude Watts said last month during a gathering at the hospital's second annual trauma symposium. "We want to be designated the trauma center for Northwest Indiana."

Warren said Northwest Indiana needs a Level 1 trauma center because of its location along multiple expressways and the South Shore rail lines.

"Everything converges in Northwest Indiana," he said. "Plus you have urban injuries and farm injuries."

No official notification of the discontinuation of Level 1 trauma services at St. James Olympia Fields has been given yet to surrounding communities, said Lansing Assistant Fire Chief Jim Baird.

"It's all word of mouth right now, but there's an understanding that the formal notification will be forthcoming," Baird said. The Lansing Fire Department currently transports patients to St. James Level 1 trauma center.