Shriners Hospital for Children is a non-profit network of hospitals spread across North America. There are more than 22 hospitals under its networks that provide treatments to children without regard to their ability to pay for the services. The hospitals also provide educational and research opportunities for medical professionals.

The Shriners Hospital for Children is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The non-profit organization is also known as "The World's Greatest Philanthropy" and hospitals under the network are owned and operated by the Shriners International. Shriners International is an international fraternity that is based on relief, fellowship, truth and Masonic principles of brotherly love. The fraternity has more than 325,000 members in its 194 chapters or temples which are spread in numerous countries. Shriners International was founded by the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine

Any patient under the age of 18 is eligible to receive treatments for burns, cleft lip and palate surgery, orthopaedic conditions and spinal cord injuries, irrespective of religion, nationality, gender or race.

The Shriners Hospitals run on donations from the Shriners International Group and also donations from individuals. Individual donors to the hospitals include celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake and many others. The Hospitals also organize various events for the sake of children and to raise money through event ticket sales. The hospital has also been rated as one of the best workplaces for 2010 to work in by the website Topworkplaces.com.

Out of the 22 hospitals located in North America, 20 are located in Urban various cities of United States and two located outside United States. One of the Hospitals is located in Montreal, Canada and the other is located in Mexico City, Mexico. All the hospitals serve children with treatable conditions in a family centered environment.

Purpose

Shriners Hospitals for Children is one of the world's biggest pediatric sub-specialty hospitals that serve thousands of kids every day. The hospital has a multi-fold mission that is centered on development of health-care facilities for children and their families.

The hospital's mission is to provide the health-care of the best quality to children with burns, neuro-musculo-skeletal conditions, and other special and treatable health-care needs within a collaborative, compassionate and family centered environment. The hospital also aims to educate health care professionals and physicians who in turn would to be able to provide good service to other people. The hospital also funds research in order to uncover new knowledge that can help in improvement of the quality of life and health-care for the children and their families.

The vision of Shriners Hospital is to become the foremost provider of care for children nationally and internationally and also advancing the field of life science in specialty areas. The hospital's mission is fulfilled without regard to the sex, creed, sect, religion, color or the ability of the family to pay for the treatment. The hospital is run by the Shriners International Brotherhood that are committed to family and dedicated to provide children with the best of care.

The hospital provides treatment for children below 18 years for any treatable conditions such as burns, pediatric orthopedics, limb discrepancies, craniofacial conditions, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, scoliorosis, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury treatment, and many others. The hospital also provides rehabilitation for burns, activity based rehabilitation, animal assisted therapy, aquatherapy, sports programs, plastic reconstructive or restorative surgery, etc.

Apart from the overwhelming emphasis by the hospital to provide treatments to children for treatable conditions under a family oriented environment, the hospital also gives importance to research on the conditions it offers for treatment. It also trains medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, medical residents, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech and language pathology, child life specialists, etc.

History

The Shriners Hospitals were formed after a resolution was unanimously passed by the Imperial Session of the Shriners group in 1920. However, the first hospital in the network that today spans to 22 hospitals was first inaugurated in 1922 in Louisiana and specialized in a few treatments.

In 1962, the Shriners International allocated about $10 million dollars for establishing three hospitals in North America that specialized rehabilitation and treatment of burned children. The next hospital was established in Texas in the campus of University of Texas Medical Branch.

The numbers of treatments have increased with time to include limb discrepancies, scoliosis, hip dysplasia, spina bifida, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other neurological ambulations. Shriners hospitals in different locations specialize in various diseases. By the 18th birthday of the inception of the Shriners Hospitals, children for free treatment begin being accepted for treatment, eligible for both outpatient and inpatient treatment.

In 1994 the Shriners Hospitals were ranked 9th in the "mos popular charity/non-profit of America" in a nationwide study of non-profit and charitable organizations by the industrial publication "Chronicle of Philanthropy". Since then the popularity of Shriners Hospitals has doubled and so have the number of patients.

Shriners International, to whom all the Shriners Hospitals belong was founded in 1871, with the name of Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The group is based on Masonic principles and has almost 200 temples or chapters located in North America. The first temple was formed in 1872 in New York City named as Mecca Temple. The Shriners Hospitals were founded as a philanthropic effort by the brotherhood.

The Shriners Hospitals in 2007 treated more than 125,000 patients and for the year 2008 has a budget of more than $820 million. Their endowment plan for 2009 was close to $5 billion.