Providing exceptional specialty to care to children
Members of the Shriners fraternity are devoted to the philanthropic children’s healthcare system they created over 100 years ago in response to the polio epidemic. In fact, they are so dedicated that if a child can benefit from the specialty care Shriners Children’s provides, but has no way to get to a location, a Shriner may pick that child up, drive them to the hospital or clinic, then wait while they are seen to drive them home again. They do it all the time, driving hundreds of miles in a day when necessary. But when the distance is further than a Shriner can drive, that’s where United’s Miles on a Mission becomes indispensable. Children aren’t just little adults — and that’s why Shriners Children’s proven expertise in pediatric orthopedics is so critical. With only 4–5% of orthopedists specializing in pediatrics, helping children reach our doctors can change the course of their lives. That’s the impact of United’s program. One Shriners Children’s patient was flown by the program from Mississippi to Shriners Children’s Philadelphia for treatment that included multiple weeks in halo traction and spine surgery. A teenager who lives near Casper, Wyoming, was flown to our Salt Lake City location for a CT scan and, following that, a surgical revision of a spinal fusion. Orthopedics is the specialty where the healthcare system first found its initial calling, but today Shriners Children’s treats children with burn injuries, cleft lip and palate, and provides spinal cord injury rehabilitation, as well. Most importantly, Shriners Children’s treats children regardless of a family’s ability to pay or insurance status. If a child needs the care we provide, the Shriners will find a way to bring that child in, sometimes with the help of United’s Miles on a Mission.
By the numbers
Providing exceptional specialty to care to children
Members of the Shriners fraternity are devoted to the philanthropic children’s healthcare system they created over 100 years ago in response to the polio epidemic. In fact, they are so dedicated that if a child can benefit from the specialty care Shriners Children’s provides, but has no way to get to a location, a Shriner may pick that child up, drive them to the hospital or clinic, then wait while they are seen to drive them home again. They do it all the time, driving hundreds of miles in a day when necessary. But when the distance is further than a Shriner can drive, that’s where United’s Miles on a Mission becomes indispensable. Children aren’t just little adults — and that’s why Shriners Children’s proven expertise in pediatric orthopedics is so critical. With only 4–5% of orthopedists specializing in pediatrics, helping children reach our doctors can change the course of their lives. That’s the impact of United’s program. One Shriners Children’s patient was flown by the program from Mississippi to Shriners Children’s Philadelphia for treatment that included multiple weeks in halo traction and spine surgery. A teenager who lives near Casper, Wyoming, was flown to our Salt Lake City location for a CT scan and, following that, a surgical revision of a spinal fusion. Orthopedics is the specialty where the healthcare system first found its initial calling, but today Shriners Children’s treats children with burn injuries, cleft lip and palate, and provides spinal cord injury rehabilitation, as well. Most importantly, Shriners Children’s treats children regardless of a family’s ability to pay or insurance status. If a child needs the care we provide, the Shriners will find a way to bring that child in, sometimes with the help of United’s Miles on a Mission.