The Kerak Shrine Center is hosting a free orthopedic screening clinic at 9-11 a.m. April 24 at Douglas High School.
Hospital screening clinic chairman Bob Pohlman of the Kerak Shriners said the clinic is for children who have been referred by a school nurse for scoliosis or whose parents suspect a problem.
Pohlman said the Shriners would screen as many children as attend Saturday's event.
"We've had them come in with six fingers or toes," he said. "There have been all kinds of problems we've referred. We had an 18-month-old you would look at and think he was just bowlegged. The doctor took one look and said, 'He's not bowlegged at all.'"
It turned out the boy would have to have his legs broken and reset to straighten them.
School and health nurses usually provide referrals to the clinic for children they think might be in need. An orthopedic surgeon and nurses, who will look for signs of orthopedic problems such as scoliosis, which refers to a curvature of the spine, will conduct the screening at Douglas High School.
Orthopedics deals with prevention or correction of disorders involving structures of the body including the skeleton, joints, muscles, connective tissue, and other supporting structures such as ligaments and cartilage.
In addition to the clinic, parents are invited to participate in the Northern Nevada Masonic Child ID Program.
Children will be digitally fingerprinted and photographed for a child identification form, which is printed and given out to parents.
The identification scan provides information that can be used by law enforcement if a child is abducted or reported missing.
Shriners Hospitals have also treated children with burns for more than 40 years.
If you go:
What: Shriners Hospital free orthopedic screening clinic
Who: Open to any child age birth to 18 who may have an orthopedic problem
When: 9-11 am April 24
Where: Douglas High School, 1670 State Route 88, Minden, Nevada
