Greater Shreveport Chamber: Shriners Hospital For Children- Shreveport Donates Exhibit To Sci-Port Discovery Center

Press release from the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce:

Paul Savage

8/4/2021

Sci-Port Discovery Center and Shriners Hospital for Children-Shreveport have partnered to provide the newest exhibit, ‘What is an Orthotic?’. The display features a series of information panels relating the definition, purpose, and types of orthotic devices. 

Featured are four actual orthotics created at the Shreveport Shriners Hospital, including a shoe lift, ankle-foot orthosis (AFO), back brace, and a reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO). Also included in the display is an interactive video that chronicles the fabrication process of an orthotic device. Featuring Shreveport Shriners Hospital orthotic technicians creating the AFO included in the display, the video allows guests to move between fabrication stages such as patient casting and mold creation to refinement, plastic application, and patient fitting. Back panels on the display serve to relate the hospital’s mission and status as the first hospital established in the Shriners Hospitals for Children system.

Created in close consultation with the Shreveport Shriners Hospital’s Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services (POPS) department, the new display represents not only a unique service within the hospital, but also the elements of medicine, technology, and innovation embraced within the mission of Sci-Port.  

“Orthotics fabrication requires a unique combination of medical knowledge, technical skill, and creativity/problem solving in order to create a device that will serve its purpose,” said Kim Green, administrator of the Shreveport Shriners Hospital. “These STEM-related concepts certainly dovetail with the mission and educational approach of our friends at Sci-Port, and we are thrilled to partner with them to present this interactive and educational look into the world of orthotics. We look forward to working with Sci-Port to engage with visitors and help share how this specialized part of our facility is making a difference in the lives of kids in Shreveport and throughout the region.”

Shriners Children’s is changing lives every day by providing innovative pediatric specialty care, conducting research to improve the quality of lives, and of care, and offering outstanding educational programs for medical professionals. We offer patient-centered care in several areas, including burns, craniofacial conditions, orthopedics, spine care and sports medicine. Children up to age 18 are eligible for care, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Founded in 1922, Shriners Hospitals for Children – Shreveport was the first hospital established in the Shriners Hospitals for Children system. Serving a six-state area in the southern United States and the Republic of Panama, the 45-bed orthopaedic and cleft lip/palate facility has provided specialized care to a global population of over 110,000 children.

This press release was produced by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.