Dr. Abdullah Hasan Pratt, is an Assistant Professor and Emergency Medicine Physician at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Affectionately known as “Dee”, Dr. Pratt’s goal has always been to have a career advocating for underserved communities and addressing systemic healthcare disparities. Last year, 2021 marked his 11th year on the campus of The University of Chicago.

It has been the 31 years of experiences over his lifetime as a resident of Chicago’s Southside that have shaped and guided his career to this point. He attributes this commitment to his childhood experiences witnessing the poor health conditions, premature deaths, and day to day struggles from a lack of access to proper healthcare by the people he cared about. This was most evident in the wake of his older brother’s murder secondary to gun violence, where in coping with the loss, he dedicated his efforts towards mentoring at risk youth, coaching youth football, and community organizing around violence prevention.

 

Though 2021 will mark his 11th year on the campus of the University of Chicago, it has been the 31 years of experiences over his lifetime as a resident of Chicago’s Southside that have shaped and guided his career to this point. As an Emergency Medicine physician, he continues to vigorously work to improve health literacy and emergency preparedness through teaching South-Side residents how to properly respond to cardiac arrests, penetrating traumas (gunshot victims), and strokes prior to the arrival of medical assistance.

 

A pivotal point in Dr. Pratt’s career came in the year between his third and fourth years of medical school, where he directed his actions toward advocating for a new Level One Trauma Center for Chicago’s Southside. It would be the experience he gained during this work with both the protesting community organizations, as well as University of Chicago administration, that would fuel Dr. Pratt’s desire to have a career within Emergency Medicine. In this capacity, his daily exposure to gun violence, drug abuse, and emergencies related to chronic diseases could direct his community outreach efforts to prevent these Emergencies from taking place.

 

From serving as a ringside/sideline team physician, to cultivating the next generation of healthcare professionals, to simply fighting to preserve lives both in and out of a level one trauma center; it isn’t important to Dr. Pratt what activities he engages in, but rather where and to whom he dedicates his time. He is truly a believer that it is for those suffering most from the ills of healthcare disparities, where the most of his pursuits should exist. By initiating events first within the underserved communities closest to his home and hospital where he works, he hopes to help bring change by playing a small role with others, with hopes of making an impact for all.