Founding Shriners Hospitals: The Story Of The Founder

who is the founder of shriners hospital

Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other paediatric medical facilities across North America. The hospitals are owned and operated by Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, which was founded in 1870 by a group of Masons who would regularly meet at the Knickerbocker Cottage in New York City. The first Shriners Hospital was established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922, and today the healthcare system consists of hospitals, clinics, outpatient centres, and telehealth sites.

Characteristics Values
Name of the founder W. Freeland Kendrick
Founder's designation Former Mayor of Philadelphia, Imperial Potentate
Year of establishing the hospital 1922
Location of the first hospital Shreveport, Louisiana
Year of opening the first hospital 1926
Number of beds in the first hospital 60
Year of opening the Philadelphia hospital 1926
Year of opening the Puerto Rico outreach clinic 1966
Year of opening the first pediatric burn hospital 1962
Year Shriners Hospitals became a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network 2015
Year of rebranding as Shriners Children's 2020s
Year of reaching over $10 billion in assets 2023

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The first Shriners Hospital was established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922

The Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other paediatric medical facilities across North America. The hospitals are owned and operated by Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, a Freemasonry-related organisation whose members are known as Shriners.

The Shriners Children's Shreveport hospital has a rich history. It was the first hospital established in the Shriners Children's system, and in 1923, it became the first Shriners Hospital to add cleft lip and palate as a service line. In 1981, Richard McCall, M.D., began his 30-year tenure as Shreveport chief of staff. In 1983, construction began on a new Shreveport hospital, which was dedicated in 1986. In 1995, the Shreveport hospital initiated an annual weeklong outreach clinic in Panama City, Panama, and became the first hospital in Louisiana to offer VEPTR titanium rib implants. In 2008, a Louisiana state historical marker was unveiled for Shreveport as part of the hospital's 86th-anniversary observance. In 2018, the Shreveport facility began offering conservative management of scoliosis based on the Schroth-Barcelona methodology. In 2022, the Shreveport facility embarked upon a yearlong 100th-anniversary celebration, including the ribbon-cutting for a newly upgraded adaptive play area for patients and families.

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Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other paediatric medical facilities across North America. The hospitals are owned and operated by Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It is a Freemasonry-related organisation whose members are known as Shriners. The Shriners Hospitals for Children system was founded in 1922 by W. Freeland Kendrick, a former Mayor of Philadelphia and Past Imperial Potentate.

Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. The organisation was founded in 1872 in New York City by two Master Masons, Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. "Billy" Florence, a well-known actor. The fraternity established Shriners Hospitals for Children as its official philanthropy in 1922 and continues to support it today.

Shriners International has a global membership of nearly 1.7 million "Shriners" and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. There are nearly 200 local chapters and thousands of clubs on six continents. The organisation is known for its colourful Middle Eastern theme, elaborate participation in parades and festivals, and its network of nonprofit paediatric medical facilities. Shriners International describes itself as a global fraternity and has a strong focus on family.

Shriners Children's provides care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. Treatment is provided in a family-centred environment, regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Care is usually provided until the age of 18, although it may be extended to the age of 21 in some cases. The hospitals work closely with the United States Southern Command and other military commands, including the Army and Air Force, to arrange medical visas and transportation for children from around the world.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children system includes hospitals in Sacramento, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Shreveport, Galveston, Springfield, and Portland. The Sacramento hospital is the only one in the system that focuses on all three areas of treatment: burns, orthopaedics, and spinal cord injuries. It also houses its own orthotics and prosthetics lab and development facilities. The Philadelphia Shriners Children's hospital is a 49-bed paediatric specialty hospital, research, and teaching centre. It was founded in 1926 and was the first in the nation to pioneer a paediatric spinal cord injury rehabilitation program in 1980.

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Shriners Hospitals are non-profit and provide care for children with a range of conditions

Shriners Hospitals for Children, also known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and paediatric medical facilities across North America. The hospitals are owned and operated by Shriners International, formerly known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, a Freemasonry-related organisation. The Shriners themselves are known as the "men in red hats".

The first Shriners Hospital was established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922, with the first patient being treated in September of that year. The hospital was built to address the needs of children who were going without appropriate care during the polio epidemic that swept across the United States in the late 1910s. Since then, Shriners Hospitals have served more than 1.5 million children worldwide.

The Shriners Hospitals system provides care for children with a range of conditions, including orthopaedic issues, burns, craniofacial conditions, spinal injuries, and neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida. They also offer colorectal and gastrointestinal care, and sports medicine. The hospitals' mission is to provide high-quality, safe, and compassionate care in a nurturing family-centred environment, regardless of the family's ability to pay for services.

In addition to medical care, Shriners Hospitals are committed to research and education. They conduct research to develop new treatments and provide educational opportunities for physicians and other healthcare professionals. Shriners Hospitals also work closely with military commands and government departments to arrange medical visas and transportation for children around the world.

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Shriners International was founded in 1870/1871 by a group of Masons

Shriners International, formerly known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, was founded by a group of Masons in 1870 or 1871. The fraternity's first official meeting took place at the Knickerbocker Cottage in New York City, where 13 Masons would regularly meet and discuss forming a new fraternity for Masons. The organization was based on the tenets of Freemasonry, with added elements of fun and fellowship.

The Masons who played a significant role in the founding of Shriners International include Walter Fleming, a 33rd-degree Scottish Rite Mason, and Billy Florence, an actor. Florence drew inspiration from an Arabian-themed party hosted by an Arabian diplomat he had attended while on tour in Europe. He suggested this theme for the new fraternity, while Dr. Fleming and other members drafted the ritual, designed the emblem and costumes, formulated a salutation, and decided that members would wear red fezzes.

The red fez, with its black tassel, became one of the fraternity's most distinctive symbols. It was chosen to complement the organization's pomp and pageantry, theme, ceremonies, and events. The fez is derived from the city of Fez, Morocco, and each one is personalized for the wearer, displaying information such as the chapter they belong to and any positions they hold.

In addition to establishing a fraternity, the founders of Shriners International also had a vision for providing medical care to those in need. In 1919, Imperial Potentate Freeland Kendrick proposed the establishment of a hospital to provide free medical care for children with orthopedic conditions. This idea evolved into the creation of the first Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, which opened in 1922. The rules for this hospital, and all subsequent Shriners Hospitals, were that admission was based on a child's need for orthopedic treatment, their family's inability to pay, and their age.

Shriners International has a long history of philanthropic work, dating back to the 1880s when members helped during a yellow fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Florida, and aided flood victims in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The organization has grown and evolved over the decades, and today, Shriners Hospitals for Children provides pediatric specialty healthcare across North America, serving over 1.5 million children regardless of their families' ability to pay.

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Shriners Hospitals are known for their philanthropic work

Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other paediatric medical facilities across North America. The hospitals are owned and operated by Shriners International, a Freemasonry-related organisation. Shriners Children's has served more than 1.5 million children, providing care regardless of a family's ability to pay.

The first Shriners Hospital was established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922. The Shriners chose this location because it was underserved and surrounded by farming communities. In 1926, the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital was opened, and in 1962, the Shriners of North America allocated $10 million to establish three hospitals specialising in the treatment and rehabilitation of burned children. The Shriners Hospitals system now includes locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and is one of the largest paediatric sub-specialty healthcare systems in the world.

The hospitals' research and treatment capabilities are renowned. Shriners Hospitals conduct clinical research in every area of care, including orthopaedic disorders, burns, spinal cord injury treatment, and cleft lip and palate. They are also a training ground for medical professionals, including nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists.

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. They offer a wide range of paediatric orthopaedic treatments, including scoliosis, limb discrepancies, clubfoot, hip dysplasia, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Three of the hospitals provide spinal cord injury rehabilitation that is developmentally appropriate for children and adolescents, with adventure and adapted sports programs, activity-based rehabilitation, aquatherapy, and animal-assisted therapy.

Frequently asked questions

The Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, was founded by W. Freeland Kendrick, a Past Imperial Potentate and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

Construction began on the first Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922.

The aim was to provide medical care at no cost for children with orthopedic conditions.

Shriners Hospitals for Children specialised in the treatment and rehabilitation of children with burns. They also provided care for broken bones, limb deficiencies, and cerebral palsy, among other neurological conditions.

The Shriners, also known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, were founded in 1870 by a group of Masons who met regularly in New York City. The red fez hats were chosen as they complemented the organisation's exotic Arabian theme, inspired by a party given by an Arabian diplomat.

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