Providing Specialized Care to Families and Children Around the World
Shriners Children’s provides treatment for nearly 20,000 children and families from over 130 countries around the world.
While many of our international patients come from Mexico we also offer annual outreach clinics throughout U.S. territories, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific Islands. These clinics are equipped to provide basic medical assessment and at select locations, medical care, for conditions that Shriners Children’s treats. We also welcome patients from around the world to our North American locations for treatment of medical conditions within our scope of care.
Personalized Care for your Child
At Shriners Children's you and your child will have access to world-class physicians and specialists in pediatric medicine. When you bring your child in for treatment, they will be assessed by members of our team who specialize in their specific condition. From there, we will work with you to design a treatment plan that is completely individualized to address your child's unique needs.
Extending Pediatric Care Through Education
Education is a part of our mission to make specialized pediatric care accessible to families and children worldwide. In order to fulfill this mission, we provide education and training annually to over 1,000 international physicians and medical students. This education enables these medical professionals to offer specialized care to children in their own communities.
Admissions and Intake Process
In order to become a patient at Shriners Children's, your child must be under the age of 18 and have a condition within our scope of care. If you are located outside of North America and are interested in seeking treatment for your child at Shriners Children's, please visit our Request an Appointment page and complete the form. Once we receive your request, one of our international patient representatives will review it and reach out to you to discuss next steps.
If it is determined that your child can benefit from the services we provide at Shriners Children's, we will contact you with information on next steps. Please be prepared to gather a list of documents and complete/sign several forms in order to begin the formal evaluation of your child's case.
Specialized pediatric care for conditions that require long-term or lifelong treatment programs may require different treatment solutions that are not offered by Shriners Children’s international patient program.
International Request for Care and Clinical Clearance
The international request for care process consists of three steps. Your assigned international patient coordinator will be your guide every step of the way.
Process for international request for care:
- Submit a request for care and clinical clearance
- Financial clearance for non-medical expenses and board presentation
- Visa request, travel and accommodations verification
Financial Assistance
At Shriners Children's all care and services are provided regardless of a family's ability to pay or insurance status.
If your family doesn't have health insurance or financial ability to cover costs, our staff will work with you on financial assistance arrangements to cover your child's medical care costs. Our number one priority is to provide care for your child.
If your child is covered by insurance, we will work with you to help explain the levels of coverage and how they will apply to your child’s care here.
Travel and Accommodations
If assistance with travel and accommodations is needed, we will work with you to help find sponsors and financial supporters. Please note that there may be qualifying criteria for the assistance these organizations provide.
