About us

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Located in Montreal since 1925, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada is a bilingual, acute care center providing orthopaedic specialty care for complex or chronic disorders, such as osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), severe spinal and limb anomalies, reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation. Children from across Canada, the U.S. and around the world have benefited from the Canada Shriners Hospital’s groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, both in Montreal and in their own communities.

For more than 90 years Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada’s board-certified surgeons and staff have been providing high-quality orthopaedic care. Every member of our team, from surgeons and therapists, to nurses and prosthetists, work together to ensure the best course of treatment for each patient in a family-centered environment.

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The new hospital

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The opening of our new hospital at the Glen site in Montreal on October 5, 2015, marked the start of a new era for Canadian orthopaedic care. With state-of-the-art equipment, a beautiful design and a surface area nearly three times the size of the legacy Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada, the new hospital enables us to provide unparalleled service to our patients and their families in an environment that is filled with light, colour and interesting design features.

Some of the new hospital features:

• 22 private patient rooms

• State-of-the-art equipment for state-of-the-art care

• Easy access from major highways and all modes of public transportation

• Four operating rooms, as opposed to two at the previous location

• The space for ambulatory care increased threefold to better cater to the ever-increasing number of outpatients

• 29,000 square feet dedicated to research, compared to 15,000 square feet at the previous facility

• 13,000 square feet devoted to rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy and occupational therapy, representing close to three times the previous area available for such services

• The new building is adjacent to The Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre

 

Why choose to bring your child to Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada?

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• For more than 90 years, we have fulfilled our mission specializing in only one thing – orthopaedics. We focus on providing patients with an exceptional depth of expertise.

• Our nursing and rehabilitation staff members are highly specialized in their fields. Not only are they published along with the physicians, including textbook chapters and research, but they are uniquely qualified to anticipate the needs of your child and family.

• While your child’s medical needs are met by our world-class physicians, we also offer programs to meet their social and emotional needs through activities.

• We provide a comfortable, family-centered environment where all services are provided under one roof. Many of our patients who come for return visits call our hospital their 'home away from home'.

• Your child will have the opportunity to develop a close relationship with their care team, as well as meet other children who are living with similar conditions.

• Basic and clinical research conducted within our walls have led to developments in diagnosis, medical and surgical treatments as well as rehabilitation techniques which have had an impact on children around the world.

• Our new hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, which allows us to give the best care possible, but always with a caring touch.

 

History of Shriners Hospitals for Children

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Inside Shriners Hospitals for Children each day, patients and families say thank you to the Shriners International fraternity – those men in the red fezzes. Our model for care was imagined and established by the Shriners, the fraternal organization for which the hospital is named. Determined to give all children access to specialized pediatric care, the Shriners opened their first hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922. Polio was reaching epidemic proportions and only families of means had ready access to doctors, leaving thousands of children at risk without health care. Shriners Hospitals for Children opened as a place where children suffering from the crippling effects of polio, clubfoot and other orthopaedic conditions could receive life-changing medical care.

Recognized as one of the world’s greatest philanthropies, Shriners Hospitals for Children has evolved into an international hospital system recognized for its devotion to transforming the lives of children through expert care and research. It is a destination of choice for parents whose children have orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, cleft lip and palate, or other complex surgical needs. All children receive care regardless of the families’ ability to pay.

 

History of Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada

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Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada opened on February 18, 1925 with a 60-bed capacity for the purpose of providing orthopaedic care to children up to the age of 14. In later years, this limitation was raised to 16 and eventually, to its present limit of 18 years. It should be noted that patients can now be treated in Montreal until their 21st birthday.

Throughout the early years, patient statistics indicated a length of stay ranging from 90 to 120 days. The most recent statistics from 2015 indicate a length of stay of only 2.3 days which is quite remarkable in comparison. This shift can be directly related to an increase in day surgery, day treatments and clinic visits over the same period of time. Patients who previously remained in-hospital are now being discharged and seen, as required, on an outpatient basis. This change in concept is a consequence of a number of factors:

• Advances in medical care and technology 

• Teaching parents how to provide the necessary care at home aided by pre-discharge planning

• Providing regular visits to the clinic, and access to a toll-free telephone line to the hospital and its team of professionals

The types of conditions treated today far exceed the range of those accepted in the 1920s. In addition to treating patients with more common orthopaedic conditions, such as deformed spine, legs, arms or hands, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada is now seeing patients needing a multidisciplinary approach. The children and adolescents present with a number of conditions simultaneously, such as metabolic and genetic bone diseases, skeletal dysplasias and neuromusculoskeletal conditions, such as spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

As more infants born prematurely survive due to advances in neonatology, we are treating a growing population of patients who have cerebral palsy, whereas 20 years ago, this type of patient could not benefit from our system. On the other hand, while the number of patients with spina bifida is decreasing they are being progressively replaced by post-traumatic spinal cord injuries, which present with the same challenges of motor function and bladder/bowel function. We also provide plastic surgery services for patients with orthopaedic-related deformities or scarring due to burns. For both simple orthopaedic conditions and complex conditions, the multidisciplinary team approach is essential.