Shriners Hospitals Rebranding As 'Shriners Children's'

by Christopher Hodapp

Bill Hosler over on the On The Square blog is reporting today that 'Shriners Hospitals for Children' has just announced that they are uniformly rebranding their network of 22 hospitals as 'Shriners Children's.' The name change is intended to unify and do away with a handful of different facility and corporate entity names of several Shriners children's hospitals and programs throughout North America.

The rebranding does away with different facility
names in the Shriners Hospital system

An email today signed by Imperial Potentate Jeff Sowder and Jeffery Gant, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, explains that the new name better reflects the present and future for of the organization. It reads, in part:

For nearly 100 years, Shriners Hospitals for Children has expanded, changed and adapted to meet the needs of children and families. As we have changed, we have added different terms to describe our locations, which is, quite honestly, a confusing distraction. We have grown so much, and do so much – “Shriners Hospitals for Children”– no longer adequately tells the public who we are. We are all part of Shriners and our concern is children, but we are more than hospitals.

As we look forward to a new century of caring for kids, the world is a far different place than it was in 1922, when we opened our first hospital. And Shriners Hospitals for Children is equally different.

We have become far more than a collection, or even a system, of hospitals. We have become leaders in care, research and medical education. We are known for innovation, expertise, compassion, generosity and a strength and determination to improve lives, no matter the complexity, that is stunning and respected throughout the world. We give our patients and families so much more than medical care. We help them build confidence and self-esteem. We provide as many resources as we have available – from custom prosthetics to adaptive sports opportunities, to assistive devices that encourage personal independence.

We are so much more than hospitals – and we need to share that fact – shout that message – clearly – to help us be recognized for all we are, live our mission and reach more children and families who need us.

The announcement hasn't gone wide yet - there are no press releases or news articles available about the rebranding. I suspect Tampa wanted to alert the membership and donors first.  

However, a video is available online HERE that announces and explains the name change. 

The over-aching name of the parent fraternal organization itself is NOT changing, and will remain Shriners International. In the 140+ years since its official formation, the Shriners have had a couple of official corporate names. The Shriners were established in 1878 with the appropriately bilious name of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and if you rearranged its initials AAONMS, it quite deliberately spelled 'A MASON.' Sometime after the mid-20th century, they rebranded themselves as 'Shriners North America, ' after expanding into Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the hemisphere. But as they opened more Shrine Clubs and Shrine Oases in other parts of the world, it was decided that the name should reflect its more global reach. The name officially changed again in 2010 to Shriners International.

The principal philanthropy of the Shrine - its now 22 children's hospitals - began life in 1922 as Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was established to treat orthopedic injuries and conditions, diseases, burns, spinal cord injuries, plus birth defects, such as cleft lip and palate, in children. By the time the Depression hit in 1929, they had constructed a total of 13 hospitals, and provided care at no charge to patients and their families. Their mission has expanded from there and continues to this day.

All Masons are not Shriners, but all Shriners are Masons. Shriners International is an appendant organization of American Freemasonry. To become a Shriner, a man must join a Masonic lodge first.  Some 200 local Shrine Temples and their members support the network of 22 Shriners' pediatric burn and orthopedic hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

To donate to Shriners Children's, visit their website HERE.