Vice President's Corner Healthy Athletes Goes to Shanghai On 2 October 2007, the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will mark the beginning of nine days of sporting competition, special events and thousands of triumphs and examples of courage. Healthy Athletes Update  • Vice President's Corner  • Spotlight • Two Years in the Blink of an Eye • Timothy Shriver Receives 2007 Humanitarian Award from Lions Clubs International • Sometimes, We Forget About Other People….. The Lions Clubs International NEVER FORGETS! • Healthy Athletes Provider Directory Opens to Public on 20 July • Healthy Athletes Health Spot Pilot Tested in Missouri • Student Grant Spotlight: A Med Student Explores Current Tools for Diagnosing Autism • An Interview with…International Global Messenger Jessica Crook By Garrie Barnes, Special Olympics Maryland Athlete and Special Olympics Inc. Employee • Newsbytes • Success Stories During the Games, nearly 7,500 athletes from 169 countries will be given an opportunity to receive valuable health screening services from the Healthy Athletes program. The Healthy Athletes venue, located at the Jiangwan Sports Complex, promises to be the largest Healthy Athletes venue ever! An enclosed, climate-controlled area of 2,400 square meters will house all six participating disciplines. Taking part in this momentous activity will be approximately 150 international volunteer health professionals hailing from all over the globe, as well as hundreds of Chinese health-care providers. These dedicated clinicians will be providing free dental, vision, hearing, podiatric, physical therapy and health promotion assessments, while gathering important health data on the status and needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities to be shared with the world. Prior to the World Games, 90 new international clinical directors will participate in rigorous training led by our Global Clinical Advisors and senior Special Olympics staff. These new volunteers will learn the protocols of the Healthy Athletes program so they can implement Healthy Athletes in their home countries. This Train-the-Trainer event will also engage colleagues from several cities and provinces in China. Our goal at the Games will be to provide screening services to 80 percent of the athletes attending the Games in Shanghai. Each day, hundreds of athletes will be visiting the Healthy Athletes venue along with their coaches, delegation heads and, in some cases, their accompanying family members. Included in the planned activities will be the introduction of a modified Healthy Athletes pilot of children between 2 to 7 years old in Health Promotion, Opening Eyes and Special Smiles. Athletes will be evaluated by highly qualified health professionals using state-of-the-art instruments. The legacy of care will be hundreds of health professionals who have gained a new appreciation for the needs and potential for care for individuals with intellectual disabilities. And thousands of athletes will be empowered to take preventative measures to maintain good health, work to improve their health and seek necessary follow-up care using the health information received at the Healthy Athletes events. Dozens of athletes with new hearing aids will have the ability to hear better; hundreds of athletes with new eyeglasses will be able to see better; and health data will be compiled and later analyzed to shape future policy throughout the world. Whether in Shanghai or any other region in the world, this is an exciting time at Special Olympics! We continue to positively impact the lives of athletes in every corner of the globe. I thank you for joining me in this great adventure. Mark L. Wagner D.M.D. Vice President, Health Programs Special Olympics Return to Healthy Athletes Update, Summer 2007