Shriners are famous for their
parades, the dazzling marching bands, the horse patrols stepping smartly
through the streets, the miniature cars driven with precision, the colorful
clowns, and more. But after the parades are over, when the cheers
and applause are but a memory, after the last smiling child is tucked safely
into bed, the Shriners put away their colorful gear and turn their attention
to another important aspect of being a Shriner, supporting Shriners Hospitals
for Children, referred to as the "World's Greatest Philanthropy".
If you haven't heard, Shriners
Hospitals are a unique charity. The Shrine operates 18 orthopaedic hospitals,
three burn hospitals, and one hospital that provides orthopaedic, burn
and spinal cord injury care. These hospitals are located throughout the
United States, Canada and Mexico. Once we accept a child into one
of our hospitals, we provide all the orthopaedic or burn care for that
child absolutely free. Children from infancy to their 18th birthday may
be eligible for treatment.
I know there are a few of
you, perhaps, who are somewhat skeptical. You're probably thinking, "C'mon,
there's gotta be a catch somewhere. You don't get anything for free nowadays."
I assure you, you may talk to the parents of any of our patients and you
will find that none of them has ever paid us a single penny for services
provided.
That's an incredible statement!
Do you know of any other
private hospital in this country that provides totally free care for its
patients? I don't know of any and I'm sure you can't name one either. Shriners
Hospitals provide this free care to their patients without regard to race
or religion. All that Shriners Hospitals ask is this: "Can we help this
child?" and "Would similar help at another hospital cause a hardship on
the family?" If the answer is "Yes" to both of these questions, then Shriners
Hospitals' doors swing open to the child. And, don't think for a
moment that because everything is free, it's less than quality care.
Shriners Hospitals provide
expert care by a qualified team of surgeons and medical professionals using
the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Okay, but what kind of care
do Shriners Hospitals provide? Shriners Hospitals treat virtually all orthopaedic
disorders, including curvature of the spine, or scoliosis, as it is called;
brittle bone disease, generally referred to as osteogenesis imperfecta;
hand and back problems; club foot; limb deficiencies and growth problems.
In addition, Shriners Hospitals
devote millions of dollars each year to specialized research and the development
of new treatments for disabling diseases. Because Shriners Hospitals are
leaders in orthopaedic medicine and research, many orthopaedic surgeons
receive their training at our hospitals. In the early '60s, the Shrine
became aware of another enemy of children, the severe burn. Thousands of
children are disfigured or killed each year by what has been called one
of the greatest childhood hazards. Recognizing this unmet need, the
Shrine opened three hospitals specifically to treat severely burned children.
These pediatric burn hospitals are staffed and equipped to treat patients
with acute, fresh burns; children needing plastic surgery as a result of
healed burns; children with severe scarring; and patients with scarring
and deformity of the face.
For close to two decades
now, the Shrine has been concentrating its efforts on another area of need,
treating children with spinal cord injuries. In 1980, the Shrine opened
the first spinal cord injury rehabilitation center for children in the
United States. That unit is located at our Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia.
Today, the Shriners Hospitals in Sacramento and Chicago also provide spinal
cord injury rehabilitation for children.
Perhaps you've been wondering
how much all this hospital and medical care costs the Shrine? If you guessed
over a million dollars a day, you're pretty much right on the money.
For 1997, the budget amounts
to a staggering $425 million. This is just part of the monetary savings
being realized by states and communities nationwide as a result of having
a hospital in a particular area. Additional savings are realized
by returning many of these children to the communities as useful and productive
citizens rather than having them remain incapable of carrying on for themselves
in society.
Since 1922, when our first
hospital opened its doors in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Shrine has spent
about $3.4 billion treating orthopaedic and burn patients. More than a
half million children have completed their treatment and have been permanently
discharged from Shriners Hospitals. During 1996 alone, Shriners Hospitals
approved nearly 25,000 new applications for admission. In addition, we
have more than 162,000 active patients at our 22 hospitals.
We make no attempt to keep
our mission a secret. We want to spend our money on children we can help.
We have public service announcements on radio and TV. We have bumper stickers
on cars and trucks. You may have seen our ads in supermarkets, shopping
malls or even in some of the major airports. To make it as easy as
possible for a family to get information about our services, we have a
toll-free patient referral line. So it doesn't cost a family one cent to
find out if we can help a handicapped child. And, of course, it costs
the family nothing for the child's treatment. While this may simply sound
too good to be true. . . it is true. But our story doesn't end on
this note, either.
Operating 22 hospitals and
caring for thousands of kids from throughout North America, and even from
some foreign countries as well, is not only a heavy burden, but also a
pleasant one that the Shrine has willingly accepted. This burden
becomes the solemn and binding obligation of each Shriner when he joins
our ranks. He cannot remain a Shriner unless he makes a mandatory financial
contribution to Shriners Hospitals each year of his fraternal life.
The Shriner is the same person
who often provides free transportation for the child, the parents and guardians
to and from the home to our hospital. And, in an emergency, that requires
chartering an aircraft. Not only that, but he devotes his entire
fraternal life to finding handicapped children whom our hospitals can help.
I invite each of you to make
a special effort to visit one of our Shriners Hospitals. Observe for yourself
the compassion, love and happiness that reigns within the walls of the
hospital. See the smiles that these men with fezzes bring to the children
there.
It's quite a sight, and one
I'd be willing to bet you won't soon forget!
