Surgeon with local ties lauded for pioneering approach to gun violence

A Central High School graduate who went on to become a trauma surgeon in Chicago has been recognized for his pioneering public health approach to gun violence.

Last month, Dr. Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., who was born on St. Thomas and raised on St. Croix, was among 100 physicians inducted into the National Academy of Medicine, or NAM. The honor, announced Oct. 21, is among the highest in the health and medical fields, and bestowed upon professionals who have shown exemplary dedication to advancing medical science and improving public health, according to a NAM statement. Rogers, a trauma surgeon in Chicago who also holds a masters’ in public health, was chosen “for paradigm-shifting hospital-based violence interventions,” including his innovative medical-legal clinic, Recovery Legal Care, designed to address social drivers of violence and reduce gun violence repeat offenses.” In 2017, Rogers moved to Chicago, where he became a founding director of the UChicago Medicine Trauma Center and executive vice president for Community Health Engagement at the University of Chicago Medicine.

He said that his approach to trauma care in Chicago has centered around what he calls a “holistic public health approach with an equity lens.” His work in the Recovery Legal Care program has been largely funded by the National Institutes of Health and philanthropic donations, targeting social drivers of violent trauma to prevent gun violence and improve long-term recovery. “All forms of intentional trauma are my focus since it is preventable and, in some ways, senseless,” Rogers said. “In Chicago, because of the ready access to guns, 90% of intentional violence involves guns.” The work positioned Rogers as a leading national voice advocating equity-driven solutions to prevent firearm injuries. Gun violence, he acknowledged, disproportionately affects young people, with U.S. gun deaths for children surpassing those caused by car crashes or cancer.