Boston Shriners Children's Hospital: More than Burns

• Acute Burns
• Reconstructive or restorative surgery
• Severe scarring, resulting in contractures
• Smoke inhalation injury · Cleft lip and palate
• Oral and Maxillofacial deformities
• Ear deformities
• Hand deformities
• Port wine stains and hemangiomas
• Congenital hairy nevi
• Non-burn conditions requiring wound care
• Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN),
• Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome,
• Abrasion/friction injuries, purpurafulminans,
• Epidermolysis Bullosa

It is important for me to create a picture that accurately portrays the dedication of these outstanding individuals. Let me turn to my experiences during my earlier trip to their facility. At that time I met many of the hospital's key professionals. Let me suggest that my memory of this fine group of people is that they live, breathe, eat, and sleep teamwork. There appears to be a seamless interaction between the patient, the team, and the patient's family from the very first moment a patient enters this facility.

Let me stress to you that the word team is not strong enough to explain the bond that links these dedicated cares givers. From the doctors to the nurses, to those in the areas of pharmacy and therapy, each person outlined their part of the overall team effort. It is not uncommon for the doctors and pharmacists to hold daily conferences to arrive at the best possible medication regimen for their young patients.

Each patient and family is welcomed as part of the Shriners family and each patient's treatment while at a Shriners hospital is unique. Shriners' multi-disciplinary team includes surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, rehabilitation therapists and psychological therapists. This team approach provides the best possible outcome and quality of life for each patient, as evidenced by our ongoing outcomes studies. All of these services are provided within the walls of the hospital or at Massachusetts General Hospital which is connected to Shriners by an underground tunnel.

Let me suggest that one of the critical treatment elements revolves around the long-term relationships which are created at this facility because of the age and condition of the patients. The Shriners Hospital admits children from infancy up until the age of 18. They are then monitored through the ages of 21. In many cases, the treatment goes on over the course of many years. The interaction between staff, patient, and family is an extremely intense and personal matter.

Patients for the Boston Shriners Children's Hospital are accepted from all around the world. That is where you come in. I know of a lot of good burn centers and orthopedic facilities. However, I want you to know that Shriners is the best. Now you might say to yourself, wouldn't every hospital tell a writer crafting a story on their hospital that they were the best? Perhaps. However I want to assure you that the dedicated, team-like manner within which the staff at the Boston Shriners hospital works permeates every part of their approach to life.

Over the years, the Boston Shriners Hospital has been in the forefront of advances in treatment for the burned child. Their research continues to improve survival and promote the quick and complete recovery of the young burn patient. An important element of this revolves around the improvement of quality of life issues for burn survivors.

While my visit dealt with the Shriners Children's Hospital in Boston, what I would like you to do is consider becoming a champion for the network of Shriners Hospitals for Children which stretches across North America. In a world of hospital care driven mad by a spiraling array of cost-related and cost-driven treatment, it is particularly pleasing to note that the great works at this facility exist through the philanthropic largess of the Shriners.

This story has a strong personal thrust for me. A friend of long standing, who is a fellow fire commissioner with me here in Adelphia, and a brother from my own Masonic lodge, has had a fabulous interaction with the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. His daughter suffered nerve damage when she was born. After many years of treating at various places, she is now making great strides thanks to the medical team at that fine facility.

Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston is a member of the 22-hospital network operated by Shriners International. Children up to age 18 with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients' ability to pay. These hospitals are substantially funded through an endowment fund maintained through gifts, bequests and donations