Cook County Hospital has a wonderful history. It has also had many firsts for the medical community the world over. The first blood bank in the world was opened here in 1937. The first HIV/AIDS clinic was opened by the Chicago City branch of Cook County Hospital in 1983. The Cobalt Beam Therapy Unit was also opened here in 1953 and the first trauma center at a hospital was opened here in 1966. I am sure for some people in the medical community, visiting this facility would be like visiting a religious shrine. The Hospital has a number of specialized units that were established to provide specialized care for patients in need of this care. Some of these include and are not limited to a specialized burn unit, Pre-natal centers that deal with providing high quality care to expectant mothers, women who have high risk pregnancies and high risk infants. They also perform specialized and difficult surgeries on unborn babies. This is something that isn’t just done anywhere. Cook County Hospital Staff work with personnel from Cook County hospital Crisis Intervention project to aid and provide support to victims of domestic violence. Victims who come here get the medical help they need, as well as counseling and support from the highly trained staff. The Hospital was also recently revamped to better deal with the increasing number of trauma cases that are the result of the increasing violent crimes in the area. To help reduce the crime rate, the Hospital is working with other organizations to educate the community on violence and its repercussions. This high level of community service is one of the things that will help bind this community closer to each other, and some time soon, we will see a reduction in the crime rate.