Dedication and Cornerstone Ceremony Hosted by Shriners Hospitals for Children® – Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 18, 2017 -- After 65 years and nearly six-and-a-half decades of giving children and families the specialized medical care they need, Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles will be moving to a brand new state-of-the-art medical center located in Pasadena. Shriner for Children Medical Center is the first facility in the Shriners Hospitals for Children network to be created specifically to meet the rigorous demands of our rapidly-changing health care system. Opening mid-summer 2017, the new medical center represents a significant departure from the concepts that define traditional hospitals.
To celebrate the transition, the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital leadership, national and local patient ambassadors alongside the California Grand Lodge, Imperial Board and the Chairman of the Board performed a traditional cornerstone ceremony. A Masonic cornerstone ritual is probably the only Masonic ritual that the public will ever see conducted. The dedication ceremony is the symbolic laying of the cornerstone, that which supports the entire structure.
**For highlights of the event click here**
“It’s a culmination of a ten year effort for us to build a new facility and we bring a $100 million dollar project to this community with the desire to help kids in need and to see that no child goes untreated,” said Chairman of the Board David Doan. “It is a fantastic feeling to have finally accomplished that and know that in this hospital; thousands of children will have their lives changed for the good by the work of our doctors.”
Members of the Board presented a time capsule that contained several newspapers from the original dedication ceremony of the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital back in 1952. Along with these items from 1952 we now place new items in our time capsule including photos, memorabilia and patient stories from our Los Angeles Patient Ambassadors and National Patient Ambassadors.
Rachel Roitman, Los Angeles patient ambassador articulated how she never once felt afraid or discouraged thanks to the care she received from her surgeons and staff. “Over the past sixteen years of my life, I’ve spent countless days at Shriners Hospital receiving IV treatments having physical therapy, clinic appointments and surgeries with hospital stays. I’ve only recently realized how fortunate I am to have such a positive experience as a person with a chronic disability. I’m amazed when I hear stories of kids being frightened or depressed when they’re in the hospital, as that was the farthest thing from my reality when I was at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles.” Rachel, Brock, Marius and Karolina, patient ambassadors, placed their stories in the time capsule in hopes that when it is open everyone who reads it is made aware of what great philanthropy Shriners Hospitals for Children really is.
Our Administrator closed out the ceremony by saying “we all know children are precious and the truth is the entire medical center-this entire effort-is because of the children. The truth is that without children, our fundamental component of our mission for Shriners Hospitals for Children could not happen without children.”
About Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles
Shriners Hospitals for Children® —Los Angeles is a specialty hospital for orthopaedic conditions, prosthetics and orthotics, hand disorders, burn scars, and cleft lip and palate. We provide world-class care to children under 18 regardless of the families' ability to pay.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a 501 © (3) nonprofit organization and relies on the generosity of donors. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by laws. For more information, please visit the hospital website at SHCLA.org.
About the Masons of California
Masonry is the world’s first and largest fraternal organization, based on the belief that a man who strives to improve himself can also improve his community and the world at large. The Masons of California have more than 60,000 members and over 340 lodges located throughout the state. The California Masonic Foundation is committed to making a profound difference for our communities, and touches the lives of thousands of Californians each year. Learn more at freemanson.org/discoverMasonry.
For more information please contact Mayra Pereyra at mpereyra(at)shrinenet(dot)org or calling 213.434.6713
Mayra Pereyra, Shriners Hospitals for Children- Los Angels, http://shcla.org, +1 (213)434.6713, [email protected]
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