Delivering First Rate Health Care to World Class Athletes

Less well known is that a key component of the Special Olympics’ mission is the so-called “Healthy Athletes Program,” which provides free health evaluations for the athletes by a team of volunteer physicians, dentists, nurses, and medical students from across the US. Through that program, the Special Olympics is the largest public global health program serving individuals with intellectual disabilities and Arent Fox attorneys helped lay the legal groundwork to make that happen in Los Angeles.

Over the years, the Special Olympics organization found that participating athletes often do not receive the health care they need in their home countries and responded by providing health care services. Through the Healthy Athletes Program, Special Olympics World Games athletes received health care screenings that covered seven areas: a sports physical exam, audiology, dentistry, vision, podiatry, physical therapy, and general health and well-being exams. They then were prescribed further services or furnished needed items such as eyeglasses or well-fitting shoes, all without charge.

In the nine days spanning the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, a record 84 percent of athletes received care through the Healthy Athletes Program. All of the health services were provided by approximately 1,400 volunteers, including volunteer dentists who performed 2,768 dental exams. Additionally, more than 600 of the athletes received comprehensive dental care, such as: root canals, cleanings, scalings, extractions, partial dentures, and other procedures. The volunteer health care professionals performed 3,369 ear exams and more than 300 hearing aids were distributed. There were 3,369 eye exams completed and more than 1,300 prescription eyeglasses were provided to the athletes. In addition, 2,015 physical therapy and 4,489 foot exams were done. As a gift for participating in the Healthy Athletes screenings, more than 5,000 Special Olympics athletes received new shoes.

Maidie Oliveau, counsel in Arent Fox’s Sports Group, serves as pro bono general counsel and secretary to the board for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organizing Committee. She enlisted Tom Jeffry, partner in Arent Fox’s Health Care practice, as well as counsel Susie Murphy and many other Arent Fox attorneys and legal professionals to help establish the legal groundwork for the 2015 Healthy Athletes Program. One of the major elements in the Arent Fox work was service agreements and contracts between Kaiser Permanente, Official Health Partner for the World Games, and other health care providers, USC, UCLA and Children’s Hospital, and the Special Olympics Games Organizing Committee. The attorneys enabled volunteer physicians and medical students from throughout the country to provide healthcare services to the athletes, working with the California Department of Public Health. The attorneys also advised on sponsorships that related to the medical program.

With the Special Olympics focused on establishing a world class event that celebrates diversity and creates greater awareness, the Arent Fox attorneys took great pride in having the opportunity to help  thousands of athletes receive access to first rate medical care.