Free Care for Kids: Can Shriners’ Hospitals Be Saved?

In 22 cities around the country, Shriners’ Hospitals for Children provide top-of-the-line care to anyone under the age of 18 for absolutely free?they accept no government funding or insurance payments. But the organization’s endowment has been devastated by the economic crisis, and the membership is voting in early July on a proposal to close six hospitals. Parents of patients at the threatened hospitals are signing petitions and holding fundraisers to try and save the hospitals. Bob Houden, spokesperson for the Shriners Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, which could be closed, and Laura Marinucci, the parent of a Shriners patient who founded Save our Shriners, join The Takeaway to talk about this potential latest casualty of the recession.