After receiving months of care at Shriners, girl in Philly plane crash left profound impact on children's hospital

Fallon Roth, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb 1, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — In the roughly four months that the patient was receiving life-saving treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia, she made quite an impression on the hospital’s staff and her fellow patients that she had grown close with.

The patient, her mother, and four other individuals were on board the medical transport plane that tragically crashed in Northeast Philadelphia Friday evening. The girl was on her way back to Mexico, her home country.

“The relationships that were formed were true and were dear, and you know she is greatly missed this morning because of that impact,” said Mel Bower, chief marketing and communications officer for Shriners.

Shriners provides care to patients from 170 countries and medical transports are common, occurring on almost a daily basis, Bower said. Shortly after the crash, Shriners' staff knew “fairly quickly” that their patient had been on board.

The girl was receiving treatment at Shriners for a condition that was not easily treated in Mexico — “Her journey was one of hope and of aspiration,” Bower said.

Depending on the severity of the patient’s condition, some patients are able to travel commercially and Shriners has partnerships with certain airlines. In more acute situations, a medical transport, like the one on Friday evening, may be required. The hospital works with a variety of medical transport services.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Shriners community, described as an inherently tight-knit pediatric setting where patients are likely to form friendships with their therapists or the cafeteria workers, is grappling with the unthinkable.

“We’re in the life-saving business,” Bower said. “Our mission is to give kids their best life ever. And so it’s not something we would even contemplate.”

On Saturday, Shriners is “checking on everyone,” Bower said. For employees or patients who may need extra support, the hospital can provide counseling services whenever they may need it.

And Bower said the devastation fuels their mission.

“We will take her with us as we go forward,” he said.