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Seven-year-old Iker doesn’t believe in the word “can’t.” He is living proof of the power of possibilities. “I’m very smart,” the enthusiastic youth says matter-offactly. “I can do anything.” His parents, Alfonso and Abigail, found out Iker had a congenital lower limb deficiency via an ultrasound. News like this can be overwhelming, with many families saying they feel alone as they navigate those early days. “We knew he was going to be born missing his right leg,” Alfonso said. “We started looking everywhere for help.” The family had moved to the U.S. from Mexico and were living in Tennessee at the time. They visited Shriners Children’s Lexington and instantly felt at home. Alfonso summed it up succinctly: “They have treated us like family since day one.”
Located in a state-of-the-art medical center just across from the UK HealthCare campus, Shriners Children’s Lexington treats more than 16,000 patients each year. The pediatric outpatient surgical and rehabilitation center is one of 20 Shriners Children’s facilities in the U.S. and provides care for orthopedic conditions ranging from the rare to the routine — from common childhood injuries to complex genetic conditions — all regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Some of the pediatric specialties include clubfoot and other foot disorders, infantile and adolescent hip disorders, hand and upper-extremity disorders, limb deficiencies and amputations, rheumatology, sports injuries, fractures, scoliosis and other spinal deformities and orthopedic conditions related to cerebral palsy, spina bifida, osteogenesis imperfecta and more. One of the elements that sets Shriners Children’s apart is that it provides care for children 18 and younger regardless of insurance status.
“At Shriners Children’s Lexington, we put patients first. Family-centered care creates an atmosphere of hope and healing. Our medical teams take the time to listen and help patients reach for their own goals,” said Tony Lewgood, administrator for the medical center. “That allows us to get to the heart of healthcare, which should always be providing exceptional care to those who need it. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’re able to do just that.” And the organization has been doing it for a long time. In 2022, Shriners International and Shriners Children’s mark very special anniversaries. The fraternity was created 150 years ago and, 50 years later, the caring and visionary fraternity members founded their official philanthropy by opening the first Shriners Hospital for Children in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922 to care for children battling polio. Lexington’s hospital opened four years later in 1926. What began as one hospital is now a unique healthcare system with a reputation for finding answers and giving families hope worldwide. “Our founding Shriners were courageous when they opened our first hospital a century ago to care for children with polio,” Lewgood said. “Today that same courageous spirit is transitioning our system of facilities to meet the current needs of children.” Needs like those of Iker and his family.
Iker sees Janet Walker, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in limb differences. He also sees the Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services – Midwest, LLC. housed at the Lexington medical center.
He started using a prosthetic leg when he was 11 months old and recently received his third prosthetic. His family has since moved to Michigan, which requires a 7-hour trip to Lexington. His parents explored orthopedic and prosthetic providers closer to their new home, but decided Shriners Children’s is where Iker belongs. “Everything Shriners has and does is special – the team, the kindness of the people,” Abigail said. “It’s the best place for kids with special needs like Iker.” Leading healthcare experts agree. For three consecutive years, Shriners Children’s Lexington, in partnership with UK HealthCare’s Kentucky Children’s Hospital, has been named among the Top 50 Best Hospitals for Pediatric Orthopedics by U.S. News and World Report. Each of the physicians who practice at the Shriners medical center also practice at UK HealthCare, and many are professors at the UK College of Medicine. Consulting physicians from UK HealthCare also serve Shriners patients for things like anesthesia, rheumatology, sports medicine and plastic surgery. Shriners Children’s Lexington has been serving children and families in the area for nearly 96 years. The first facility opened as a 20-bed wing connected to the children’s ward of Good Samaritan Hospital. Shortly after the hospital opened, it became evident that the 20-bed wing was not large enough to treat the number of children with orthopedic conditions seeking care. A new free-standing hospital with 50 beds opened in 1955 on Richmond Road and a newer hospital was built near that same location in the 1980s. The current medical center opened at 110 Conn Terrace five years ago. The 110,000-square-foot medical center features two surgical suites, six pre- and post-surgery rooms and a post-anesthesia care unit, a motion analysis laboratory, 20 patient exam rooms in an outpatient clinic, four infusion rooms, a radiology department that provides traditional and low-dose imaging, a rehabilitation gym and treatment rooms for physical and occupational therapy, an observation playground, a research department and a custom prosthetics and orthotics department. “A significant benefit of our care model is we guide families through the entire journey right here in our facility,” Lewgood said. “This streamlines the patient’s care and allows providers at every level – from the surgeon to the physical therapist to the radiology tech and more – to collaborate to ensure the best possible outcome for our kids and our families.”
