Shriners Hospitals for Children®, a health care system of 22 hospitals that provides specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding medical teaching programs, was founded in 1922 by the Shriners fraternity, Shriners International.

Today, Shriners Hospitals for Children® is the largest pediatric sub-specialty health care system in the world, with the largest full-time staff of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in the United States. In addition, the Shriners Hospitals for Children® specializing in burn care are the only freestanding hospitals dedicated to the treatment of pediatric burns, and the health care system's spinal cord injury rehabilitation program is recognized worldwide. 

Every year, Shriners Hospitals for Children® provides care for thousands of kids with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, in a family-centered environment without financial obligation to patients or their families. The health care system also provides medical educational opportunities and conducts research to improve the lives of children.

For more information, please visit www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org, e-mail shrinepr@shrinenet.org or call the corporate public relations department at (813) 281-8162.