FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is Shriners International?
Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. There are 195 temples located throughout the world.
2. What is Shriners Hospitals for Children?
The 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children facilities are dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. All care and services are provided regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
3. What is Shriners International’s connection to Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Shriners International founded and continues to support Shriners Hospitals for Children as its official philanthropy.
4. Where does the money come from to operate Shriners Hospitals for Children?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Shriners Hospitals for Children relies on generous donations from Shriners, corporations and the general public to carry out its mission and improve the lives of children every day.
5. What percentage of the Shriners Hospitals for Children operating budget is spent in direct support of the organization’s three-part mission of patient care, research and education?
Approximately 90 percent
6. How can I learn more about supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children?
For information about ways to give to and support Shriners Hospitals for Children, please visit donate2shc.org or call 800-241-GIFT.
7. When was the first Shriners temple (chapter) established?
Mecca Shriners was established in New York City in 1872.
8. Why does Shriners International have a Near Eastern theme?
Similar to college fraternities that use the Greek motif, Shriners International selected Near Eastern iconography and regalia to serve as the fraternity’s theme when it was founded in 1872. The Shriners’ red fezzes (hats) and the costumes they sometimes wear in parades pay tribute to this longstanding tradition.
9. When and where did the first Shriners Hospitals for Children open?
The first Shriners Hospitals for Children opened in 1922, in Shreveport, La. The hospital focused exclusively on treating orthopaedic conditions caused by polio, which was rampant at that time.
10. What are the principal service lines offered at Shriners Hospitals for Children today?
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides treatment for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.
11. What are some examples of the orthopaedic conditions treated at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides treatment for a full range of congenital and acquired orthopaedic conditions. Some of the most commonly treated conditions are clubfoot, limb deficiencies, deformities and discrepancies, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), and orthopaedic problems related to spina bifida, cerebral palsy, dwarfism and muscular dystrophy.
12. When did Shriners Hospitals for Children begin to provide burn care?
The Shriners Hospitals for Children specializing in treatment of burns and burn-related injuries have been leaders in burn care and research since opening in the mid-1960s.
13. What are some examples of expertise in burn care found at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
The Shriners Hospitals for Children that treat burns and burn-related injuries provide comprehensive acute, reconstructive and rehabilitative care. A multidisciplinary team works closely with patients and their families to provide support during their recovery and transition back to school and family life. Since Shriners Hospitals for Children entered the burn care field, the survival rate for children with burns over more than 50 percent of their body surface has doubled.
14. When did Shriners Hospitals for Children begin to provide care for spinal cord injuries?
In the early 1980s, Shriners Hospitals for Children opened the nation’s first spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers specifically designed for children and teens.
15. What are some of the rehabilitative programs and services offered to patients with spinal cord injuries at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
These programs provide rehabilitation designed to meet the developmental and social needs of pediatric patients and include activity-based rehabilitation techniques, aqua therapy and nutrition and fitness programs.
16. What criteria determine a child’s eligibility for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Children up to age 18 are eligible for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children if there is a reasonable possibility they can benefit from the specialized services available. Acceptance is based solely on a child’s medical needs.
17. How does someone schedule an appointment or refer a patient to Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Call the toll-free national patient referral line at800-237-5055 in the U.S. or 800-361-7256 in Canada. To locate a Shriners Hospital near you, visit the refer a patient page at shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
18. How are Shriners Hospitals for Children different from other pediatric hospitals?
Shriners Hospitals for Children is the only pediatric multi-hospital system in the United States that provides all care and services regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Shriners Hospitals for Children is also one of the largest pediatric sub-specialty hospital systems in the world, with the largest full-time staff of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S.
19. What role does Shriners Hospitals for Children play in medical education?
In the past 20 years, more than 9,500 physicians have received residency education or postgraduate fellowships at Shriners Hospitals for Children. The health care system also maintains relationships with more than 60 medical teaching facilities.
20. Where can I get more information about Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners International?
To learn more, visit shrinershospitalsforchildren.org or shrinersinternational.org.
Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. There are 195 temples located throughout the world.
2. What is Shriners Hospitals for Children?
The 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children facilities are dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. All care and services are provided regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
3. What is Shriners International’s connection to Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Shriners International founded and continues to support Shriners Hospitals for Children as its official philanthropy.
4. Where does the money come from to operate Shriners Hospitals for Children?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Shriners Hospitals for Children relies on generous donations from Shriners, corporations and the general public to carry out its mission and improve the lives of children every day.
5. What percentage of the Shriners Hospitals for Children operating budget is spent in direct support of the organization’s three-part mission of patient care, research and education?
Approximately 90 percent
6. How can I learn more about supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children?
For information about ways to give to and support Shriners Hospitals for Children, please visit donate2shc.org or call 800-241-GIFT.
7. When was the first Shriners temple (chapter) established?
Mecca Shriners was established in New York City in 1872.
8. Why does Shriners International have a Near Eastern theme?
Similar to college fraternities that use the Greek motif, Shriners International selected Near Eastern iconography and regalia to serve as the fraternity’s theme when it was founded in 1872. The Shriners’ red fezzes (hats) and the costumes they sometimes wear in parades pay tribute to this longstanding tradition.
9. When and where did the first Shriners Hospitals for Children open?
The first Shriners Hospitals for Children opened in 1922, in Shreveport, La. The hospital focused exclusively on treating orthopaedic conditions caused by polio, which was rampant at that time.
10. What are the principal service lines offered at Shriners Hospitals for Children today?
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides treatment for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.
11. What are some examples of the orthopaedic conditions treated at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides treatment for a full range of congenital and acquired orthopaedic conditions. Some of the most commonly treated conditions are clubfoot, limb deficiencies, deformities and discrepancies, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), and orthopaedic problems related to spina bifida, cerebral palsy, dwarfism and muscular dystrophy.
12. When did Shriners Hospitals for Children begin to provide burn care?
The Shriners Hospitals for Children specializing in treatment of burns and burn-related injuries have been leaders in burn care and research since opening in the mid-1960s.
13. What are some examples of expertise in burn care found at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
The Shriners Hospitals for Children that treat burns and burn-related injuries provide comprehensive acute, reconstructive and rehabilitative care. A multidisciplinary team works closely with patients and their families to provide support during their recovery and transition back to school and family life. Since Shriners Hospitals for Children entered the burn care field, the survival rate for children with burns over more than 50 percent of their body surface has doubled.
14. When did Shriners Hospitals for Children begin to provide care for spinal cord injuries?
In the early 1980s, Shriners Hospitals for Children opened the nation’s first spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers specifically designed for children and teens.
15. What are some of the rehabilitative programs and services offered to patients with spinal cord injuries at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
These programs provide rehabilitation designed to meet the developmental and social needs of pediatric patients and include activity-based rehabilitation techniques, aqua therapy and nutrition and fitness programs.
16. What criteria determine a child’s eligibility for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Children up to age 18 are eligible for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children if there is a reasonable possibility they can benefit from the specialized services available. Acceptance is based solely on a child’s medical needs.
17. How does someone schedule an appointment or refer a patient to Shriners Hospitals for Children?
Call the toll-free national patient referral line at800-237-5055 in the U.S. or 800-361-7256 in Canada. To locate a Shriners Hospital near you, visit the refer a patient page at shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
18. How are Shriners Hospitals for Children different from other pediatric hospitals?
Shriners Hospitals for Children is the only pediatric multi-hospital system in the United States that provides all care and services regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Shriners Hospitals for Children is also one of the largest pediatric sub-specialty hospital systems in the world, with the largest full-time staff of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S.
19. What role does Shriners Hospitals for Children play in medical education?
In the past 20 years, more than 9,500 physicians have received residency education or postgraduate fellowships at Shriners Hospitals for Children. The health care system also maintains relationships with more than 60 medical teaching facilities.
20. Where can I get more information about Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners International?
To learn more, visit shrinershospitalsforchildren.org or shrinersinternational.org.
