Shriners Hospitals for Children

I am a female recipient of Shriner's Hospital services when I was 11 years old, 1961. The hospital was in San Francisco CA which I understand has since been relocated to Sacramento CA. My mother marveled at their competency and stated that there were no fees involved for their services. I received a spinal fusion and it was the first time for me being away from my parents. At that time parents were allowed only visitation of once a week on Sundays. We were schooled in the facility so we could keep up with our studies. I remember making lots of new friends throughout my stay. The staff was very welcoming and made my stay of 2 months with them as enjoyable as they could. I will forever be indebted to these wonderful people as without the surgery I would have become a hunchback.

Both of our children have a form of MD and required surgery. The Shriners hospital in Greenville SC was there every step of the way from the surgeries through recovery. If I came into money they would receive the majority of it. They have assisted in giving my kids normalcy. We cannot thank them enough.

I am fully aware of the Shriner's work and devotion to those in need. They are truly caring folks whose only reward is to volunteer their time and help in any way they can. They are not out to make money! I don't have time to write a long review, but I agree wholeheartedly with Fujibob's review. I couldn't have said it any better.

Our son was treated in Sacramento, CA for a bone cyst when he was 10. We didn't have insurance at the time and our doctor suggested the Shriners Hospital. They were awesome! The workers and volunteers were friendly and professional. All seemed to know how important and good their work is. That was 9 years ago and the memory is still very vivid. We now support them and urge others to do so also.

Our son was treated at the Hospital in Chicago. Our sponsoring Shriner club in South Dakota provided travel from our town to the airport in Omaha, airline and taxi fares for one parent and our son, and hotel stays. When both parents wanted to go, they provided travel to the airport for all of us and we only had to pay for one airline ticket. The Shriner's club clearly explained the policies about funding and that one parent could stay in the hospital while our son was in the hospital. This was fair and very generous. Our son underwent surgery that was only available by an inexperienced surgeon near our home. The Chicago surgeon was extremely experienced in this particular surgery and all went well. I can't say enough about the quality of care, professionalism, and the kindness with which we were treated by everyone involved.

I am a volunteer and a Shriner, we work for free and are not trying to make any money off of anyone. The previous review by a woman who was upset that her entire family was not comped by the Shriners Hospital during the treatment of her daughter is a misnomer. Normally the hospitals are not responsible nor take care of food and housing for family or extended family during these treatments but rather are focused on the treatment and well being of the patient or child involved. Extended family road trips and expenses would destroy the ability of the Hospitals to care for its primary objective and that is the total care of the child at no cost to the family. I resent the attitude of this woman who feels that her entire entourage had to be funded. Normally the child and one parent are hosted by the Sponsoring Shrine Temple who pick up hotel and food expenses during the trip. NO ONE MAKES ANY MONEY except the employees of the hospital who receive their normal wages. All of the Shriners who work from the Transportation Unit Drivers who give of their time, the cost of all the Vans their maintenance and gas are all donated by those men with no other purpose than to help the child. In fact most of the money that runs the hospital comes from the donations and bequests of the Shrine members themselves and from their families. We get very little help from people outside. All we ask is to be allowed to continue to support the people and the employees of the Hospitals so that they continue to do their good work. Negative articles like this women criticizing the Texas Shrine Center serve ill purposes because of the misinformation and terrible lack of understanding on her part. I feel sorry for the child to have such a grubby parent that is ungrateful at best.

I HAVE BEEN TO 3 OF THE 22 SHC,THE SHRINERS TOOK ME FOR A TOUR OF THE HOSPITALS.I TALKED TO KIDS AND THEY PARENTS,I HEARD NOT 1 BAD THING.THEY ALL LOVED THE HOSPITAL AND STAFF.I ALSO GOTO THE CIRCUS,FAIR AND OTHER FUNDRISERS,ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WORK THEM DO NOT GET PAID,I HAVE STARTED TO HELP AT THE FUNDRISERS.IF YOU GOTO THE SHC YOU WILL GOTO TO A FUNDRISER OR THE CIRCUS AND SPEND YOUR MONEY ON A GREAT ORGANIZTION.

SHINERS HOSPITAL IN GALVESTON TEXAS SUCK. i know Shriners is noted for being top notch and for the kids. maybe they are and My 5 year old daughter was burnt from wast down and my daughter is well tended, but they have put my family through hell. we were in Tulsa hospital and they should have sent us to Springfield Missouri burn unit. great unit. and 3 hours from my home. instead a shiners jumped on us and told us our family would be taken care of, room and food provided and put us through a 10 hour long ambulance drive of hell. once we got here, my child was tended well but my family (a 2 year old, 13 year old and 22 year old son) were kicked out. they couldnt even stay in the lobby over night. we were told food would be provided yet i have receipts where we have had to pay. i had to get a hold of the liar shriners who told us we all would be taken care of and ask him to help us get a motel and he got mad because he had to put us up and only wanted to do one night. so now im paying for the extra nights. so another lie. we were told 2 people could be in the room over night so dad and my 13 year old were going to, and when it came time to eat they then threw a fit about feeding her AND kicked her out because NOW it has to be just a parent in the room. we have been treated like we should tie the kids up to the bumper of the truck over night, and if we had of done that to a dog we would get a citation. some one made a buck off of this "charity" offer and we have had to pay our way all the way. and tell me if its such charity, why did they need her insurance card? yeah - give me Joyners Hospital any day. so so sick of someone making a buck off of our pain

As Chairman of the Board of Governors for one of the busiest of our 22 hospitals, I can tell you a few things. First and foremost is that most of us, (and all of our hospital chairmen) are volunteers. When it comes to the actual amount of donation dollars to the hospital by Shriners, the cost of airline transportation at least twice a month (and often more) are not reimbursed and are not included in what Shriners contribute. My costs are only a small portion of my donations, so to say we all give $5 dollars a year, is to say very little. Besides my time and costs, the last few years, I have donated about ten thousand dollars in checks. I personally do not know any Shriner who are paid for their volunteer work for our hospitals. If you see a funny red hat on a Shriner, then you can be assured he is not being paid money to be there.

So, what do I and others get out of our work? We get to see a child who would never walk... walk again. We see a child who is disabled by burns, able to live a more normal life. We see doctors (who are mostly paid), operate on children... not because the insurance company said they will cover that procedure,... but because they believe in our mission of helping a child live a better life. I will never forget the little 8 year old girl who walked up to me, carrying her child's 'walker', and hand it to me... saying: "Here Mr. Shriner, you can have this. The doctor says I don't need it anymore. Please give it to a child who does need it." I did not show her the watering of my eyes. Yes, we Shriners get a lot out of our work for the hospitals... not everything is counted in dollars.

Our employees are second to none when it comes to the heart they show for our children. Part of that is because that is what we as Shriners look for when we are hiring. Part of it is because we have yet to turn down a child's operation due to insurance reasons. As long as I am Chairman of my particular hospital, we never will... and I am positive that the 22 other Chairmen of their hospitals agree with this thought.

I can tell you that our employees... Doctors, Nurses and the rest of what it takes to run a hospital... believe in our mission, and that is often why they work for Shriners. An under-18-year-old child does not need to be related to a Shriner. In fact, few of them are. They only need to submit an application. Get reviewed by one of our doctors. Have a problem which falls within our specialties. And our doctors believe that they can make the child's life better.

Our largest specialties cover Orthopedics, Acute Burns, Burn Reconstruction and Facial Clefts. There are others, so contacting a hospital of ours can get a parent a better idea, but both our Shriners as well as our employees all want to help all the children we can.

Shriners Hospitals provided me with 3 orthopedic surgeries, free of charge. While the treatment was free, I sacrificed nothing for quality of care. I had subsequent treatments for other issues at other hospitals in the Seattle area, none of which were as successful as the ones performed at Shriners, Portland. I was always warmly welcomed, treated fairly and honestly, and I always felt safe in Shriners. They provided counseling for my parents during my treatment, while giving me many of the tools I needed to overcome my obstacles post-surgery. I would not recommend ANY children's hospital above Shriners.