Your Kid May Qualify for Help at Maine Shriners Health Screenings

Anah Shriners will host no-cost medical screenings for children in Maine this weekend, to determine whether they're eligible for Shriners Children's Hospital.

What is a Shriners Children's Hospital?

If you've never heard of these amazing places, Shriners Hospitals are a network of non-profit medical facilities around the United States that treat children with certain medical challenges. Hospitals are centered around a family environment and provide care, regardless of parents' insurance coverage or ability to pay. Eligible children are found through no-cost screening clinics that are available to all children in need of care for a variety of conditions, including:

• Scoliosis
• Burn Care
• Spina Bifida
• Orthopedics
• Cerebral Palsy
• Cleft Lip/Palate
• Pediatric Surgery
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Sports Injuries/Fractures

Other conditions may be eligible for care, as well. Parents should contact Anah Shriners about whether their child can be screened.

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When and Where are the Screening Clinics?

Maine Anah Shriners will host screening clinics from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 21st at the following locations.

• Anah Shrine Center, 1404 Broadway in Bangor
• Aroostook Shrine Club, 390 Houlton Road in Presque Isle
• St. Croix Masonic Lodge, 10 Calais Avenue in Calais
• Pellon Center, 90 Main Street in Machias
• Northern Light Primary Care, 891 West Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft

Appointments are encouraged for the clinics and can be made through the Anah Shrine Screening Clinics website. Walk-ins will also be welcomed.

What Happens During the Screening?

At the screening clinics, children will be seen by a provider to determine their eligibility and the findings will be sent to the Shriners Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. The files will be examined by doctors at the hospital, who will then reach out to the parents or guardians to determine the next step. Some children will be given appointments immediately, while others may require further screening at an Outreach Clinic, that will be held in Lewiston at a later date.

Anah Shriners hope that parents with children they believe might be eligible will attend one of these clinics on Saturday. And they encourage anyone who knows of a family with a child who may qualify to inform the parents of this Saturday's screenings.

People unable to attend a screening clinic but who would like to see if they qualify can call Shriners Children's directly at 1-800-237-5055.