Faith leaders urge pause as Cleveland Clinic advances plan for new Level I trauma center

A new trauma-center proposal is triggering renewed debate over need, trust and coordination

Cleveland Clinic is seeking to establish a Level I trauma center for adults and children at its Main Campus, outlining a goal of opening in 2028. The project is tied to a multi-year effort that could include expanding the Main Campus emergency department and preparing for a consultation visit with the American College of Surgeons during 2026, a key step in the verification process.

The plan has drawn objections from a group of local faith leaders who are calling for a pause while broader community questions are addressed. Their request comes as competing health systems and elected officials press for public clarity on how an additional top-tier trauma site would affect the region’s existing trauma network, emergency transport patterns and patient outcomes.

What Cleveland Clinic is proposing

Level I trauma centers provide around-the-clock access to specialized surgical and critical-care teams and carry additional requirements for training, research and quality-improvement programs. Cleveland Clinic says it currently transfers several hundred trauma patients out of its system each year and argues that treating those patients on its Main Campus could improve continuity of care. The Clinic also operates a Level I trauma center at Akron General Hospital and Level II trauma centers at several other hospitals in its system.

Concerns from MetroHealth and public officials

MetroHealth, the county’s safety-net system, publicly urged Cleveland Clinic to reconsider, arguing that similarly sized metropolitan areas typically do not sustain three Level I trauma centers without consequences. MetroHealth leadership has said trauma outcomes depend on high-volume, highly coordinated teams and warned that adding another Level I site could dilute experience across institutions and raise costs.

State Rep. Darnell T. Brewer, whose district includes parts of Cleveland’s East Side, has called for public discussion before any expansion proceeds, framing the issue as one of transparency, coordination and measurable community benefit.

Policy questions intersect with violence and emergency access

Faith leaders’ call for a pause has also intersected with concerns about how patients and Good Samaritans interact with hospital security and police. A long-running point of contention is the Cleveland Clinic Police Department’s written procedure directing officers to detain people and vehicles that accompany gunshot-wound victims arriving at Clinic emergency departments. The policy has been criticized by legal experts as raising constitutional concerns and by community advocates as potentially discouraging people from seeking emergency care quickly.

Cleveland Clinic has said its security posture is shaped by the need to keep patients and staff safe and that hospitals must manage the risk of weapons and threats entering emergency settings.

What happens next

The Clinic’s trauma-center pursuit is expected to unfold over multiple years, including accreditation steps and facility and staffing preparations. Faith leaders and other critics are pressing for a defined public process before the plan advances further.

• Whether the region needs an additional Level I adult-and-pediatric trauma center
• How emergency medical services would route patients among existing trauma hospitals
• What commitments, if any, would accompany the plan on violence prevention and post-injury support
• Whether current security and detention procedures would change in the context of a new trauma designation

Major trauma-system changes typically require tight coordination among hospitals, EMS agencies and community stakeholders, because minutes and routing decisions can determine outcomes.

For now, the proposal remains in the planning and verification-preparation stage, with the central dispute focused on capacity, coordination and community trust rather than the clinical role of trauma care itself.