Shriners Hospitals for Children History
The Shriners Hospitals were formed after a resolution was unanimously passed by the Imperial Session of the Shriners group in 1920. However, the first hospital in the network that today spans to 22 hospitals was first inaugurated in 1922 in Louisiana and specialized in a few treatments.
In 1962, the Shriners International allocated about $10 million dollars for establishing three hospitals in North America that specialized rehabilitation and treatment of burned children. The next hospital was established in Texas in the campus of University of Texas Medical Branch.
The numbers of treatments have increased with time to include limb discrepancies, scoliosis, hip dysplasia, spina bifida, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other neurological ambulations. Shriners hospitals in different locations specialize in various diseases. By the 18th birthday of the inception of the Shriners Hospitals, children for free treatment begin being accepted for treatment, eligible for both outpatient and inpatient treatment.
In 1994 the Shriners Hospitals were ranked 9th in the "mos popular charity/non-profit of America" in a nationwide study of non-profit and charitable organizations by the industrial publication "Chronicle of Philanthropy". Since then the popularity of Shriners Hospitals has doubled and so have the number of patients.
Shriners International, to whom all the Shriners Hospitals belong was founded in 1871, with the name of Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The group is based on Masonic principles and has almost 200 temples or chapters located in North America. The first temple was formed in 1872 in New York City named as Mecca Temple. The Shriners Hospitals were founded as a philanthropic effort by the brotherhood.
The Shriners Hospitals in 2007 treated more than 125,000 patients and for the year 2008 has a budget of more than $820 million. Their endowment plan for 2009 was close to $5 billion.
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