PINE GROVE - Shriners Hospitals For Children is offering free evaluations in the borough today.
The "Orthopedic Outreach Clinic For Kids," held by the Schuylkill Shrine Club, will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pine Grove Masonic Lodge, 23 Oak Grove Road.
"We always figure if we can help one or two, it's worth it," said Ira Boyer, treasurer and driver for the club. The club, which currently has about 300 members, was formed in 1948, he said.
Boyer said the event has been held since 1984 or 1985.
A local doctor will conduct the evaluations, Boyer said, and appointments are not required.
Individual shrine clubs support the work of the hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The network of hospitals offer treatment for conditions including burns, spinal cord injury, orthopedics and cleft lip and palate. Services are free for children up to age 18.
Transportation can be provided to the hospital in Philadelphia free of charge, Boyer said.
Kathi Kelly, 59, of Orwigsburg, used the services of one of the hospitals in Springfield, Mass., after contracting polio when she was 3 years old.
"My muscles were really pretty bad. I was walking with braces and crutches," she said Monday by phone.
She went to the hospital in Springfield off and on from the time she was 6 until 16.
"If it wasn't for Shriners, I would not have the life that I have," she said.
The hospitals' stated mission is to "provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family centered and collaborative care environment, provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals, conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families," according to its website, shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.