Join us at our 2023 Fall Games Healthy Athletes Screenings in Tri-Cities, WA! 

Healthy Athletes® is designed to help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness, leading to enhanced sports experience and improved well-being. Special Olympics created its Healthy Athletes program in 1997 to identify and address the health disparities that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often experience.

The program provides Special Olympics athletes with free health screenings, education, and referrals for follow-up care in a fun, welcoming environment that removes the barriers people with IDD often encounter during a visit to a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare professionals.

The Healthy Athletes program is dedicated to changing the way health systems interact with people with intellectual disabilities. Healthy Athletes is not only a program for other athletes but, through training and hands-on experience at screenings, it is a program for healthcare students and professionals to increase their knowledge of best practices in caring for people with IDD.

Date & Time: 

• Saturday, November 18th, (3:00pm-8:45pm) - Healthy Athletes Screenings & Game Day Minds Perfromance Stations

Location: 

• Desert Hills Middle School (1701 S Clodfelter Rd, Kennewick, WA 99338)

Physician equivalent, student, and general volunteers are needed to offer FREE Healthy Athlete screenings in three disciplines and support Game Day Minds Performance Stations: 

• Fit Feet offers screenings to evaluate ankles, feet, lower extremity biomechanics, and proper shoe and sock gear to participating athletes. Fit Feet helps Special Olympics athletes step lively on the playing field, and in everyday life.  (learn more)

• Healthy Hearing provides free hearing screenings and other medical services, including ear wax removal, swim molds, hearing aid maintenance, and minor repairs for Special Olympics Athletes.  (learn more) 

• Health Promotion offers screenings for bone density, blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI). Its goals include encouraging and enhancing healthy behaviors and improving self-efficacy and self-advocacy. (learn more)

• Performance Stations are events held at, or near, the field of play at tournaments/competitions or Games that are designed to educate and activate athletes and their supporters in the tenets of fitness: nutrition, hydration, and physical activity. At the 2023 Fall Games, we will host Game Day Minds Performance Station at Desert Hills Middle School venue featuring physical activity, nutrition, hydration, and sun safety. 

Volunteer Types: 

Physician Equivalent Volunteer – A licensed clinician in a relevant field to the discipline hosted. Physician Equivalent Volunteers support various screening stations, often requiring clinical experience (ex: bone density), while also providing learning opportunities to the students present. Physician Equivalent Volunteers are required to complete volunteer training modules prior to the screening and a brief training led by the Clinical Director, day of.  

Student Volunteer – A student (often graduate level), currently enrolled in a degree program relevant to the discipline hosted. Student volunteers will support various screening areas depending on their clinical experience. Student volunteers are required to complete volunteer training modules prior to the screening and a brief training led by the Clinical Director, day of. Students provide a unique and valuable role in Healthy Athletes. Students who volunteer with Healthy Athletes are learning how to provide inclusive healthcare early in their careers. These students will eventually be able to educate their colleagues and help to build a more inclusive health system. 

General Volunteer – Will often support with set up, check-in station, incentive station, and tear down. No credentials necessary. 

Volunteer Training:

All volunteers are required to take the Healthcare Professional Training.  

• Follow instructions to take the 30-minute – General Health Volunteer module 

• Some disciplines may require additional training ahead of the screening