In 1920, the Imperial Session of the Shriners was held in Portland, Oregon. During that session the membership unanimously passed a resolution put forward by W. Freeland Kendrick who (while serving as Imperial Potentate) put forth the resolution that created the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The first hospital in the system opened in 1922 in Shreveport, Louisiana. It provided pediatric orthopaedic care.

In 1962, the Shriners of North America allocated $10 million to establish three hospitals that specialized in the treatment and rehabilitation of burned children. After visiting 21 university-based medical institutions, the decision was made to build their first pediatric burn hospital on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

In May 2015, Shriners Hospitals for Children became a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a national network of organizations committed to better serving patients and their families through physician collaboration.

In the 2020s, Shriners Hospitals for Children rebranded as Shriners Children’s, adapting to current nationwide trends in health care, especially the emphasis on outpatient care, and some locations becoming clinics or outpatient centers.

Shriners Children’s continues to be supported by Shriners, Masons, and philanthropists today. It is now one of the largest pediatric sub-specialty healthcare systems in the world, with locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In addition, the healthcare system holds hundreds of outreach clinics annually, with medical staff members routinely traveling to places around the world to provide pediatric medical care. The staff of Shriners Children’s is dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, conducting innovative research and offering outstanding educational programs for medical professionals.

Treatment areas cover a wide range of pediatric orthopaedics, including scoliosis, limb discrepancies, clubfoot, hip dysplasia, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, as well as cerebral palsy, spina bifida (myelomeningocele), and other neurological conditions that affect ambulation and movement. Three of the hospitals provide spinal cord injury rehabilitation that is developmentally appropriate for children and adolescents, with adventure and adapted sports programs, activity-based rehabilitation, aquatherapy, animal-assisted therapy, and other programs. Four of the hospitals (Boston, Galveston, Cincinnati, and Sacramento) provide care for children with burns, as well as treating a variety of skin conditions such as epidermolysis bullosa and toxic epidermal necrolysis. The Boston, Chicago, Shreveport, and Portland hospitals also provide treatment for children with craniofacial conditions, especially facial clefts.

Transportation to the hospitals is often provided free of charge for patients and their family by Shriner-drivers (also known as Hospital Tripsters) across the country, by van or by airplane. Children accepted for treatment become part of the Shriners Hospital system until their 18th or, sometimes, their 21st, birthday, eligible for both inpatient and outpatient treatment for all facets of their disability.

While the main emphasis of the hospitals is to provide medical care to children regardless of the family’s ability to pay, the mission of the hospitals also includes research on the conditions treated and the education of medical professionals, including medical residents and fellows, nurses, physical, recreation, and occupational therapists, speech and language pathology, psychologists, social workers, and child life specialists.