PICKENS - Members of the Pickens County Shrine Club have been raising money to help crippled children since the chapter started in 1966, and the possibility that the Greenville Shriners Hospital may be closed has them deeply concerned.

The hospital is one of five Shriners hospitals around the country on a list for possible closure.

The solution, according to local Shriners is more funds.

The hospital offers its services at no charge, and they have always done this thanks to the generosity of the public, through donations, pecan log sales and other fundraising events.

And while the possibility that the Greenville facility could be closed has local Shriners worried, it’s especially troublesome to the parents of those children who use the hospital’s services.

Even though the hospital is in Greenville County, many children in Pickens County benefit from it, like Dustin Nalley, a 17 year old who has been treated there since he was two days old for a rare condition called arthrogryposis.

Dustin’s mother, Tammy Nalley, calls the hospital “the most important thing that ever happened in my son’s life.”

“The worst thing that could happen is for that place to close,” she said.

Nalley said that thanks to Shriners, many children, including her son, get a better chance at life.

Dustin has undergone multiple surgeries over the years, but those surgeries turned the Easley High School student’s life around, she said.

“They’re so wonderful, and they don’t charge you a dime,” Nalley said.

The hospital will be 82 years old in October and has been consistently one of the top-three children’s hospitals in the nation.

The Shriners Imperial Board will make a final decision about whether or not it will be closed during its annual meeting during the week of July 4.