Shriners Hospitals for Children

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a one-of-a-kind international health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative medical research and outstanding teaching programs. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services at no charge – regardless of financial need.

Founded and supported by the Shriners fraternity, Shriners Hospitals for Children has been providing expert medical care since 1922. The first Shriners Hospitals focused on treating orthopaedic conditions related to polio – the greatest threat to children’s health at that time. After the introduction of the polio vaccine, the hospitals remained focused on pediatric orthopaedics and sought other ways to improve children’s health care. In the 1960s, the Shriners fraternity established hospitals dedicated to treating children with severe burns and began earmarking funds for structured research to find answers to pressing medical questions. In the 1980s, Shriners Hospitals were the first to establish spinal cord injury programs focusing on the specific needs of children and teenagers, and in 2005, cleft lip and palate was added to the health care system’s official disciplines.

Shriners Hospitals for Children’s physicians and researchers do amazing things every day. Our medical researchers have contributed to advancements in treatments for osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease); increased the survival rate in children with severe burns; and refined the use of functional electrical stimulation to increase mobility and dexterity in children with spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. Our physicians hold leadership positions in well-respected organizations, such as the American Burn Association, American Spinal Cord Injury Association and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America; and many of our physicians and nurses are teaching the next generation of medical professionals at major universities and medical schools.

Helping kids defy the odds is what Shriners Hospitals are all about. For more information about Shriners Hospitals for Children and how you can help us continue our mission of providing pediatric specialty care, innovative medical research and outstanding teaching programs, visit www.shrinershospitals.org.