in 1922 the world was changing the industrial age had taken root and the american economic engine was firing on all cylinders skyscrapers began to fill cityscapes and america's baseball team the yankees was finally building their first stadium in the bronx the nation was on the rise but so too was something else a contagious and sometimes deadly disease that was paralyzing hundreds of thousands of children polio and in 1922 it was an epidemic that's when a group of dedicated men decided that something needed to be done to help children and families shriners made it their mission to establish a health care system that could help children affected by polio and shriners hospitals for children was born today polio is under control but all over the globe the mission to help kids continues we have grown into one of the largest pediatric specialty healthcare systems in the world providing advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions
burns spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate
every day it is the children that inspire an entire health care system to be pioneers in research and medical modernization
in fact innovations and treatment practices first discovered and performed at shriners hospitals for children are now standard procedures around the world world-class research and medical education continues to define us as a leader in modern pediatric care outreach efforts have expanded to 120 clinics in 18 countries extending shriners hospitals care beyond the walls of our hospitals and into rural communities and places where specialty healthcare may be inaccessible physicians and nurses provide convenient permanent and portable access to specialty healthcare services to kids who may have otherwise gone untreated other teams are impacting children across the globe kids who have almost no access to health care let alone specialty health care it is this limitless approach to providing care outside the hospital walls that gives shriners hospitals for children the ability to respond in times of crisis recently when tragedy struck children in taiwan mexico city and guatemala it was fast-acting shriners who offered the assistance and the expertise in life-saving burn care from the doctors at shriners hospitals that helped these children in crisis this rapid response has earned us a reputation as a global force for kids
technology is also playing a role in the future of shriners hospitals for children and we are embracing it a new network of telehealth centers are coming online these centers allow doctors and nurses to speak to examine and treat patients in remote parts of the united states and overseas expanding access to health care for those that need it most allowing shriners hospitals to come directly to the patient to ease the burden of long-distance travel very soon shriners hospitals for children will be the largest pediatric telehealth network in the world
over the years we have developed professional affiliations and partnerships with other world-class medical universities facilities and global health organizations you may not know that shriners hospitals for children has treated children from virtually every country in the world in 2017 alone shriners hospitals treated children from 125 different countries with over 12 000 outreach encounters in north america the shriners hospitals for children health care system is known for pioneering pediatric burn care we maintain the largest network of pediatric orthopedic surgeons and developed the first model for spinal cord injury rehabilitation designed for children our network of motion analysis centers and low-dose radiation x-ray equipment is the largest in the world new outpatient services and other treatment improvements are being implemented every day making our network an ever-evolving compassionate place for world-class pediatric care all of this is possible because of talented medical staff hard-working administration dedicated shriners and generous donors working together to help as many children as possible just as in 1922 when polio demanded a change to pediatric care shriners hospitals for children was there and as the pediatric medical landscape is changing shriners hospitals will meet the challenge because what mattered to us then still matters to us today remaining an innovative ever-evolving organization that compassionately helps as many children as possible regardless of their family's ability to pay thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you but there are more children that need us
