Shriners launches burn awareness effort
Monday, Feb. 4, 2013 - 12:00 am
A 5-year-old boy scalded by hot oil from a frying pan. A toddler who lost her lower legs and a hand to a raging infection. A young man whose car burst into flames after being struck by a drunken driver.
These are just a few of the patients who have received care at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California since the facility opened in 1997 on Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento.
Shriners has been a godsend for many families – providing free burn and prosthetic care that would otherwise cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Shriners cares for children up to the age of 18 regardless of a family's ability to pay, though in recent years it has begun billing insurance companies for treatment of patients who have coverage.
In addition to treating children, the national Shriners Hospitals for Children organization focuses on preventing burns through education.
This is Burn Awareness Week, and Shriners is kicking off a yearlong education campaign focused on preventing scaldings and fire- related injuries in the home.
Information and educational materials can be found at www.burnawareness.org.
– Mary Lynne Vellinga
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