Dean's Corner Over the past several years, there has been accumulating evidence of the lack of adequate health care for people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics has been a leader through the Healthy Athletes program in documenting the current health care needs among our athletes worldwide. Additionally, after thorough review of access and quality issues, both the U.S. Surgeon General's office and the Department of Health and Human Services have recently issued calls for action to improve the health of people with disabilities, as have several professional organizations. < Read "U.S. Surgeon General Issues First Call to Action on Disability" > On 29 September 2005, Special Olympics unveiled its Healthy Athletes Provider Directory at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Annual Scientific Assembly. Dr. Mary Frank, Chairman of the AAFP Board, called on other leading health organizations to join with AAFP in reaching out to their members to gain their participation in the Provider Directory. With the cooperation of health care providers like you, the Directory can become the largest health care provider network for people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and the rest of North America. (The Provider Director currently is open to health care providers in the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean; over time, the Directory will be opened to providers in other regions of the world.) Healthy Athletes Update Dean's corner From the Global Director Appropriations Update Global Vision Curriculum MedFest In the Spotlight HAS The database - accessible through the Special Olympics Web site - allows health care providers to voluntarily identify themselves as willing to treat people with intellectual disabilities. This is not a guarantee of care, simply a willingness to be contacted about providing care. The Provider Directory is currently online and open to health care providers in multiple disciplines in North America. Health providers voluntarily list the services they offer by providing basic identifying information; individuals looking for health care will be able to search for providers in the Web database in late 2006. This long-awaited resource should address a long-standing complaint by families and people with intellectual disabilities about a lack of access to qualified and willing health care professionals. I urge willing health care providers to register their practice in the Directory and reach out to your colleagues and through your personal and professional communications channels to encourage other health professionals in your area to sign up by visiting the Healthy Athletes Provider Directory. Sincerely, Stephen Corbin, DDS, MPH Dean, Special Olympics University >> Return to Healthy Athletes Update, Winter 2006