Essay Topic:

THE WORKS OF THE SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN AND HOW THEY HAVE
INFLUENCED OTHERS AND MYSELF ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Shyane Miller
CIS 110
Instructor: Venicia McGhie
Final Copy
Due date: 14 October 2015

ABSTRACT

This essay serves to inform about the important work that The Shriners Hospital for Children do in
order to help so many people in great need of assistance every single day. In this essay I will discuss
several key issues that The Shriners face and attempt to overcome. I will also review some of the great
services The Shriners offer to families, regardless of their financial situation. Additionally, I will
interpret how The Shriners Hospital for Children has influenced me to be not only a better nurse in my
future, but also a better person in life.

1.

INTRODUCTION

At some point in everyone's life, they will be in need of hospital care for some type of problem or
condition. Let's face it - hospital bills are not cheap and can put a huge amount of stress on anyone.
Fortunately, The Shriners Hospital for Children in Lexington, KY offers services in their specialty
areas for patients, regardless of a family's ability to pay. The Shriners are also a completely non-profit
organization, earning most of the money needed to care for these patients through donations, and their
many members who host a wide array of fundraisers. The specialty areas include Orthopedics, Burn
Care, Spinal Cord Injury, and Cleft Lip/Palate. How could anyone turn down services from The
Shriners when they are this caring about getting their patients the care they need, regardless of their
financial status? The Shriners Hospital for Children truly is a place that cares about all of their patients

getting the treatment and care they need. One thing very influential to me about The Shriners Hospital
for Children is their mission:
Shriners Hospitals for Children has a mission to: Provide the highest quality care to children with
neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a
compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment. Provide for the education of
physicians and other healthcare professionals. Conduct research to discover new knowledge that
improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families. This mission is carried out
without regard to race, color, creed, sex or sect, disability, national origin or ability of a patient or
family to pay. (The Shriners Hospital for Children).
This essay will discuss exactly what The Shriners Hospital for Children is and the care they provide for
their patients.

2.

ORTHOPEDICS

Shriners Hospital for Children has four specialty areas in which they are known for.
Orthopedics is probably their most well-known area in which they treat patients. Information from their
website has stated:
Since our first hospital opened its doors in 1922, providing care for pediatric orthopedic conditions has
been a foundation of Shriners Hospitals for Children. We can help children with essentially any
orthopedic condition, other than an acute trauma. Shriners Hospitals for Children is dedicated to
providing medical and rehabilitative services to children with congenital deformities and conditions,
problems resulting from orthopedic injuries, and diseases of the Neuromusculoskeletal system. (The
Shriners Hospital for Children).

Shriners offers treatments for many different orthopedic conditions such as Clubfoot, hand disorders,
limb deficiencies/discrepancies, legg-calve-perthes disease and other hip disorders, scoliosis (curvature
of the spine), osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), juvenile idiopathic arthritis, orthopedic
problems associated with cerebral palsy and spina bifida.. Along with the treatments and therapies
offered, Shriners also offers in-house orthotics and prosthetics. Our goal is to help each child become
as healthy and independent as possible. We are dedicated to providing a complete range of appropriate
medical and rehabilitative services to achieve this objective, including surgeries, physical, occupational
and recreation therapies and orthotics and prosthetics. (The Shriners Hospital for Children)
3. BURN CARE
The second most well known area that The Shriners specialize in is burn care. The Shriners Hospitals
for Children specializing in burn injuries have been leaders in burn care, research and education since
opening in the mid-1960s. Thanks to the cutting-edge medical care provided at these hospitals, every
year thousands of children have a greater chance of surviving from all types of burn injuries. (The
Shriners Hospital for Children). This is a great service offered by the Shriners, as burn injuries can
prove to be fatal in all cases, particularly in adolescence. With the help of the Shriners, many children
burned at a young age can go on to live productive lives despite their injury (depending on the severity
and placement of the burns). The Shriners Hospital for Children are also leaders in burn care research,
developing and perfecting techniques to treat both fresh and healed burns. The Shriners Hospitals
specializing in burn care provide critical, surgical and rehabilitative care to children with varying
degrees of new and healed burns. With the help of the Shriners many children find the transition back
to their normal lives and routines fairly quickly and easily, as the shriners offer many re-entry and
readjustment programs. This can be a big factor in children not being psychologically damaged by
their injuries, them returning to their normal lives institutes a sense of regularity back to them after
receiving their burns. In addition to their many helpful programs with adjusting to life after receiving

an injury, the Shriners are very diverse in the care provided during the initial burn care, and during the
burn healing process to help appease their patients quickly and effectively. The range of treatments
needed by patients with burn injuries can include skin grafting procedures, continuous enteral feeding,
infection control and procedures to lessen the effects of scarring. (The Shriners Hospital for
Children). I also cannot say enough about how well the staff at The Shriners Hospitals are trained in
treating all types of burns, as well as many different skin conditions. This training has proven to be
essential when treating patients with severe burns, their quick reaction and knowledge of burn wounds
can make the difference in their patient living, or dying. The medical staff at Shriners Hospital for
Children is renowned for their expertise in critical care, particularly in techniques that may help save
the life of a patient with severe burn injuries such as fluid resuscitation, management of smoke
inhalation, early excision and skin grafting, and management of increased metabolism. (The Shriners
Hospital for Children). The work of the Shriners burn care specialists has helped save so many young
burn patients since their opening. By providing the necessary burn care to patients, the shriners have
increased the survivability of their patients exponentially, making sure that so many families don't have
to go through losing a child. 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. In
addition, today, patients with burns over 90 percent can survive, and go on to lead full, productive
lives. (The Shriners Hospital for Children). If my child ever experienced a severe burn, I would feel
confident in the Shriners abilities to effectively treat my child and have them in great health in a timely
fashion. This has influenced me to do burn research in my future, and hopefully work with the
Shriners in treating burn care patients and help with nursing them back to health.
4. CLEFT LIP AND PALATE
A cleft lip is a fairly common birth defect, in which the baby is born with a small gap or opening in
either the roof of the mouth or the lip. An orofacial cleft is when a baby is born with an opening in the
lip and/or roof of the mouth (palate). Cleft lip and cleft palate happen in about 1 or 2 of every 1,000

babies born in the United States each year, making it one of the most common birth defects. (Cleft
Lip and Palate). There are several Shriners hospitals for children that treat this birth defect, helping to
ensure that these children can live their lives normally. There are several different aspects of this birth
defect that shriners must overcome in order to help these children not only physically, but mentally.
Shriners Hospital for Children has listed the following information on their website:
At Shriners Hospitals for Children, patients with a cleft lip and/or palate are treated by a
multidisciplinary group of experts who work as a team to improve the childs appearance and their
ability to eat, breathe and communicate. Each patients unique treatment plan may include surgery,
orthodontics, hearing, speech and psychological therapies, along with specialized support. The goal of
the Shriners Hospital treatment program is to help each child achieve optimal function, improve their
facial appearance to the fullest extent possible and restore their self-esteem. (Shriners Hospital for
Children)
Helping the children to overcome this birth defect is a truly remarkable feat, seeing as how without the
Shriners help these children could be permanently disabled, and emotionally scarred from school
bullies and public encounters where their outward appearance may hinder them to be shy, and less
outgoing. With the help of the Shriners, these children that would have been otherwise disabled tend to
live fairly normal lives, unhindered by their previous disability.

5.

SPINAL CORD INJURY

Spinal cord injuries can be fairly common and typically result from blunt force trauma to the spine.
Shriners Hospitals for Children has reported that:
Each year 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injuries (SCI) are reported throughout the U.S.
Approximately 10 percent of those affect children under age 16. In the mid-1980s, Shriners Hospitals

for Children established the nations first SCI rehabilitation programs specifically designed for children
and teenagers. (Shriners Hospital for Children)
It is very clear that Shriners Hospital for Children has made a great impact on spinal cord injuries and
can be beneficial to people who possess them. Shriners Hospital provides innovative care for patients
with SCI, along with boosting confidence and self-esteem. (Shriners Hospital for Children)

6. CONCLUSION
By doing the research for this essay, I have learned what The Shriners Hospital for Children is really
about. I have learned how helpful and innovative they are in caring and treating their patients, along
with them being a non-profit organization. Hopefully this essay was as informative to my readers as it
was to myself.

References

Welcome to Shriners Hospitals. n.a., 14 October 2015.

Cleft Lip and Palate. n.a., 14 October 2015.