LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington’s Shriners Children's Hospital will celebrate its 100th anniversary on November1, marking a century of providing pediatric care to patients.
The hospital relies exclusively on benefactors to carry out its mission. This funding model eliminates waiting periods for insurance company approvals or denials, allowing doctors and nurses to execute treatments based solely on the best interest of the pediatric patient.
“We provide all of our care regardless of a family's ability to pay. So, in the most basic sense, what does that mean? It means it allows our doctors to practice medicine, in the way it was meant to be practiced,” Mike Caldwell said.
Caldwell handles marketing and communications for the hospital. He credits the staff, administration, Shriners fraternity members, and patients' families for making the mission possible.
“We’re excited about this 100-year milestone. We couldn’t do it without the families entrusting us with the care of their children. We have world-class physicians and amazing nurses, awesome administration, and the [Shriners] fraternity members behind us. We could be what we are without all of those people,” Caldwell said.
To commemorate the milestone, the hospital planned a birthday bash community event in June and the Century of Care Gala fundraiser in November. Caldwell said organizers have been planning the events since the middle of last year.
“We'll have a community event in June, and then a big fund-raising gala in November and all sorts of activities interspersed throughout the year,” Caldwell said.
Throughout the year, the hospital treats children to unique experiences, such as window washers dressed as superheroes, to make the facility feel less like a hospital.
“Any day you never know what you’re going to get at Shriners. But you can count on getting world-class care in a fun environment,” Caldwell said.
“They [patients and their parents] know the mission that sort of underlines everything that we do. And they know we're going to treat their children as if they were our own children,” Caldwell said.
