Supporting Shriners Children's

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At the age of 16, Katherine Marchesseault was already committed to playing soccer at Northeastern University once she graduated high school. That dream almost came to an end in 2019, when a terrible car accident left her with fourth-degree burns on her legs and damaged muscles. After being transferred from several hospitals, she ended up at Shriners Children’s Boston. 

Doctors said amputation might be necessary. But in the end, seven successful surgeries and intense physical therapy allowed Katherine to heal in time to play the last game in her high school season. 

“I think what makes Shriners’ unique is that they treat the whole family,” Katherine’s mother Margaret Marchesseault said in a video interview. “They don’t just treat the patient. They treat the entire family, and they just always had the right thing to say, or could really read who she was, and knew what she needed.”

The accident, and her long recovery, impacted Katherine significantly. She said her experience at Shriners’ was the “final decision” in choosing to pursue nursing as a career. And now, she’s one of Shriners’ 2022-2023 National Patient Ambassadors. 

“I definitely want to work in pediatrics, and burn care is definitely number one on my list of things I want to do,” she said. “And knowing that I've had this experience, and it's something that I can use to help my patients in the future just makes it seem like an even better idea and something that I definitely want to endure in my life.”

Since Shriners Children’s opened its first hospital in 1922, the company has slowly expanded to become a world-renowned organization with locations in three countries and offers care for a range of orthopedic, craniofacial, spinal, sports medicine, burns and related conditions. 

Based in Tampa, Shriners Children’s encompasses 1,252 specialized physicians and surgeons and more than 320,000 orthopedic visits a year. The hospital’s mission is threefold: to care for patients, conduct research to develop new treatments, and provide educational opportunities for healthcare professionals. 

Stories like Katherine’s, evidence of Shriners Children’s excellence in care, are exactly why the company was chosen as a recipient of the Atlantic Cares program donation. For Atlantic Logistics team member Darlene Batten, the connection to Shriners Children's is very personal.

"Shriners helped to save my sister's life when she was a teenager by gifting her with a life threatening surgery. She had a tumor on her back close to her spine which made it a very difficult surgery. She lives a normal healthy lifestyle today because of that organization and the brave doctors at Shriners Children's. My family didn't have funds to pay the cost of those medical bills or the weeks in the Shriners Children Hospital in Florida over 30 years ago. To this day, if I see an event held by the Shriners organization, I always give."

For most of its history, the healthcare system has been known as Shriners Hospital for Children. Recently, the title has been phased out in favor of “Shriners Children’s” instead, to keep up with nationwide trends and more clearly define who the company is for. 

Shriners continues to be recognized for its excellence. In 2022, the hospital system was honored with 14 Press Ganey recognitions, the national leader in healthcare consumer and workforce engagement. Shriners was also ranked nationally for orthopedics in the 2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospitals report published by the U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice. Five Shriners locations made the list, including the Shiners Children’s in St. Louis, which ranked No. 10. 

There are many ways to support Shriners Children’s through matching gifts, corporate sponsorships, donating your vehicle, hosting a fundraiser or making an online tax-deductible donation. Approximately 85% of all donations are dedicated to patient care, research and education. 

‍Click here for more information on Shriners Children’s and how you can help.

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ABOUT ATLANTIC LOGISTICS

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Atlantic Logistics provides expedited truckload and partial service on flatbeds, stepdecks, lowbeds, vans, and reefers throughout the United States and Canada. Moving over-dimensional/over-weight freight with specialized equipment, Atlantic Logistics is an approved Department of Defense and General Services Administration broker, qualify as a woman-owned business, and are members of the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), the Transportation Marketing & Sales Association (TMSA), and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA).

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