Southeast Queens Gunshot Victims Are Likeliest To Die: Report

JAMAICA, QUEENS — Shooting victims in southeast Queens are likelier to die from their gunshot wounds than people shot anywhere else in New York City, a new report finds.

Victims of gun violence in southern Queens, particularly those below Hillside Avenue, are most likely to die from their injuries, according to an analysis of police data on the city's 12,000-plus shootings between 2010 and 2018.

That's because more residents there live further than three miles from a trauma center than anywhere else in New York City, the analysis by The Trace/Measure of America/THE CITY found.

"How well your trauma system works, and how good your care is across the country is a big mosaic, and where you are will determine your outcomes," Dr. Robert Winchell, the former chair of the trauma systems committee for the American College of Surgeons, told the news outlets.

The situation worsened a decade ago when St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica closed, according to the report.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, the only remaining trauma center in southern Queens, has just eight intensive-care beds for patients with severe or life-threatening injuries, the news outlets reported.

But the hospital is struggling: The Greater New York Hospital Association has it on a "watch list" of facilities that might close, The Trace/Measure of America/THE CITY found.

Read the full story in THE CITY.