About Healthy Athletes Since officially launching in 1997 as a Special Olympics program, Healthy Athletes has grown to provide seven different health screenings with the goal to improve athletes' ability to train and compete in Special Olympics. These free health screenings and services are offered to athletes at local, State/Provincial, National and World Games. Healthy Athletes has been implemented globally in more than 90 countries and nearly 500,000 screenings have been completed since program inception. Healthy Athletes is designed to help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness, leading to enhanced sports experience and improved well-being. This brochure [PDF 2M] provides an program overview. Licensed health care providers and other Healthy Athletes volunteers ensure that Special Olympics athletes receive a variety of health screenings and services in a series of clinics conducted in a welcoming, fun environment. The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Initiative includes these disciplines: Fit Feet, FUNfitness, Healthy Hearing, Health Promotion, Opening Eyes®. MedFest and Special Smiles®. Special Olympics Healthy Athletes continues to expand rapidly around the globe: More than 76,000 health professionals and health professions students have volunteered at Healthy Athletes events from 1997-2007. Special Olympics has conducted screenings for more than 689,000 athletes at more than 3,000 events during that time. Healthy Athletes currently screens athletes in more than 90 Special Olympics Programs around the world. During the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Special Olympics Healthy Athletes conducted nearly 19,000 free health screenings for athletes from 159 of 164 delegations. This is the largest number of athletes screened at a Healthy Athletes venue since the Program’s inception in 1997. In 2007, 12 countries conducted Healthy Athletes screenings for the first time. These countries were: Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Pakistan, Rwanda and Uganda. The award-winning Special Olympics booklet Are You A Healthy Athlete? was authored by Special Olympics athletes Kester Edwards and Renee Dease and designed to educate Special Olympics athletes on being and staying healthy, and to encourage participation in Healthy Athletes screenings. During a Healthy Athletes event, Special Olympics athletes receive a variety of health screenings and services in a series of clinics conducted in a welcoming, fun environment. Volunteer health care professionals and students are trained to provide the screenings in an effort to educate the professional community about the health needs and abilities of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Data from the Healthy Athletes venues are entered into a Web-based software application called Healthy Athletes Software system (HAS) to constitute the largest database of health data in existence. The health data gathered at events are important for planning, programs, gaining support, improving policies and research. In 2008, HEALTHone Global and Special Olympics extended the global partnership furthering real-time electronic management of athlete medical information around the world. The success of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes events depends on partnering: Special Olympics program staff support the work of trained Healthy Athletes volunteers to provide event-based health opportunities for athletes. Event managers create an environment for positive interaction between health care professionals, other volunteers, and Special Olympics athletes and their families. Products, equipment and cash donations from local, national and international companies help to support the program. Financial support of governmental and philanthropic sponsors helps the program grow. Support of the volunteer opportunities offered by Special Olympics Healthy Athletes provides ongoing community network for improved access to health care for Special Olympics athletes — creating a legacy of care. Learn more about starting a local Healthy Athletes program. For more information on Healthy Athletes or to volunteer, contact David Evangelista, Director, Health Programs, +1 (202) 824-0341 or devangelista@specialolympics.org.