A Promise Made
“If it’s your promise, it’s my promise, and we’ll keep it together.” – Mose Siskin
More than a half century ago, two Chattanooga businessmen devoted their lives to serving their community and reaching out to people with disabilities. Today, their legacy lives on at Siskin Children’s Institute.
In 1942, Garrison Siskin suffered a life-threatening injury, and surgeons told him that his leg would have to be amputated. He prayed to God that if his leg were spared, he would dedicate the rest of his life to helping others. The next morning, his prayers had been answered.
When Mose learned of this vow, he told his brother, “If it’s your promise, it’s my promise, and we will keep it together.” They established the Mose & Garrison Siskin Memorial Foundation in 1950.
The foundation would provide funding to support a preschool for young children with physical disabilities and developmental delays (Siskin Early Learning Center). Soon after, a rehabilitation center (Siskin Hospital for Rehabilitation) would be opened to provide outpatient services, including physical therapy, speech and language therapy, and even free dental. In 2009 a medical clinic for children and families (Siskin Center for Developmental Pediatrics) was made available at Siskin Children’s Institute to provide evaluations, diagnosis and therapy services, and family health care resources were made available for families navigating complex healthcare systems.
Today, the Institute continues to expand its reach and services for children, opening a clinic in Nashville, TN in 2020, and works towards enhancing access to developmental medicine and early intervention care across the region and beyond.
Find our complete list of developmental medicine and early intervention services here.
