Shriners Hospitals For Children

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 pediatric hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico providing specialized care for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate. All services are provided at no charge.

Eligibility for care is not based on financial need or relationship to a Shriner.

If you know of a child Shriners Hospitals might be able to help, please call our toll-free patient referral line:

• In the U.S.: 1-800-237-5055
• In Canada: 1-800-361-7256

For more information about admission and eligibility, visit the Shiners Hospitals website.

About The Shiners Hospitals

Improving the lives of children

Deciding where to take your child for specialized medical care is one of the most important choices facing many parents. You want the highest quality care and the most respected pediatric specialists to ensure the best outcomes for your child.

Shriners Hospitals for Children has been providing state-of-the-art care for more than 80 years. Our network of pediatric specialty hospitals focus on orthopaedic conditions, burn injuries, spinal cord rehabilitation, and cleft lip and palate repair.

Our staff believes in and practices a "family-centered-care" approach to treatment. We believe the the family plays a vital role in a child's ability to overcome an illness or injury. Shriners Hospitals helps the family provide the support the child needs by involving the family in all aspects of care and recovery. The purpose of all Shriners Hospitals is to provide care for our children so they can lead fuller, more productive lives.

No Barriers to Care

While providing this high-quality care, we do not face the barriers of insurance industry processes and policies. Because we do not rely on third-party funding by insurance providers or U.S. government agencies for treatment provided by our hospitals, our physicians, nurses and therapists can create and implement a treatment plan without delay.

All children, from birth to 18 years of age, may be eligible for care at Shriners Hospitals if, in the opinion of our doctors, the child can benefit from the specialized care provided by our hospitals. Eligibility is not dependent on financial need or relationship to a Shriner.

Leaders in Innovation

Shriners Hospitals established the first pediatric orthopaedic hospital in 1922 in Shreveport, La., and since then we've continued a tradition of discovering and addressing the special needs of children.

• Established the first pediatric burns hospitals, paving the way for similar hospitals worldwide
• Established the first spinal cord injury rehabilitation units designed specifically for pediatric use
• Activated the first pediatric air ambulance, staffed with burn specialists, for the transportation of critically injured burn patients

Research

Shriners Hospitals' contributions to the medical community not only benefit our patients, but contribute to the overall knowledge for the care and treatment for a wide range of pediatric and adult conditions. Shriners researchers have played key roles in:

• Development of a cultured skin substitute for burn-injured patients
• Development of a nutritional formula that reduces infection and improves healing for pediatric burn patients
• Development of a biomaterial for tendon and ligament reconstruction
• Partner is discovery of genetic cause of juvenile Paget's disease (JPD)
• Collaborated in discovery of genetic causes for 10 inheritable bone diseases
• Development of effective treatments for osteogenesis imperfecta (also known as brittle bone disease)

Care Specialties

Providing world-class medical care

Orthopaedic Hospitals

The 18 orthopaedic Shiners Hospitals are dedicated to providing specialized medical and rehabilitative services to children with congenital deformities, problems resulting from orthopaedic injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Some of the most commonly treated disorders include clubfoot, limb deficiencies and discrepancies, scoliosis, osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and problems related to spina bifida, cerebral palsy, dwarfism and muscular dystrophy.

Burn Care

Located in Galveston, Boston, Cincinnati and Sacramento, the Shriners burn hospitals have been leaders in burn research since opening in the mid-1960s. Treatment is provided for severe burn injuries and related scarring, along with physical and emotional rehabilitation. This vast experience and knowledge has had far-reaching affects on burn treatment techniques worldwide.

Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

In the 1980s, Shriners Hospitals established a spinal cord injury rehabilitation program for children. These programs, at the Chicago, Northern California and Philadelphia hospitals, are among the few in the United States specifically designed to treat children and teenagers with spinal cord injuries.

Cleft Lip and Palate Repair

In 2005, the Joint Boards of Shiners Hospitals officially added cleft lip and palate repair to the mission. The program is expanding, based on the model of Shriners Hospital-Chicago, which as been treating children with cleft lip and palate for more than 35 years.