Innovative Burn Care All About Changing Lives

Shriners Children’s Leads the Way Through Expertise and Research

For Jaclyn Block, there is no doubt: Shriners Children’s burn care saved her son Bryson’s life.

“Without Shriners, he wouldn't be here at all. He had a 13% chance to live,” Jaclyn said of her son, who was 8 years old when he was burned from a gas can explosion at their Ohio home. “And to go from that, to where he is now, I mean, we couldn't have made it without Shriners.”

Now, almost eight years later, Jaclyn remains in awe of the care Bryson and others like him receive from an organization that has defined pediatric burn care as we know it today.

“They make these kids feel comfortable and anything that they want to do, any type of person they want to be they're right there behind them helping them out and getting them to be the best people they can be.”

Shriners Children’s treats burns of any size – from massive, life-threatening injuries to the smallest superficial burn. Care extends to children with serious skin conditions, dog bites, skin tears and other wounds. All four burn centers are accredited by the Joint Commission and have been distinguished by the American Burn Association (ABA) and the American College of Surgeons.

Physicians from Shriners Children’s have been active in the ABA throughout its history, serving as committee chairs, officers and advocates. Twelve Shriners Children’s doctors have served as ABA president. Ingrid Parry, a physical therapist and researcher at Shriners Children’s Northern California, was named president of the American Burn Association (ABA) for the 2022-2023 year, becoming the first non-physician/non-surgeon to lead the organization.

The physicians and care teams have contributed to most of the significant advancements in acute and reconstructive burn care since the system began treating burns in the 1960s, and has set many of the standards for pediatric burn care.

The medical team at Shriners Children’s includes leaders of the American Burn Association, the American Board of Surgery, International Society for Burn Injuries, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Surgical Association. Journal editors, textbook authors and winners of outstanding teaching awards are counted among the medical team. All are focused on advanced practices. They conduct research, lecture nationally and internationally, and work collaboratively to ensure that every child they serve benefits from exceptional care and expertise.

The organization pioneered a specialized nutrition plan to reduce muscle loss. Research scientists in the healthcare system also fostered advancements in determining how much fluid to give patients in the first few hours after a burn. Additionally, physicians developed the use of cultured skin substitutes to close acute wounds more quickly. Techniques that are now considered the standard of care in burn scar reconstruction were born out of research by Shriners Children’s staff.

“The survival rate of children who have significant burns has dramatically improved thanks to the remarkable evolution in both the treatment and recovery phases,” said Shriners Children’s Chief Medical Officer Frances A. Farley, M.D.

"The commitment to a wrap-around care approach is rooted in studies and research into the emotional and psychological needs of children coping with injuries and other changes," Farley said.