An estimated 200 million people around the world have intellectual disabilities, many of whom suffer needlessly with chronic pain and disease because they lack access to basic health care.
People with intellectual disabilities:
More often than not, these deaths are preventable and result from treatable conditions, like constipation, seizures and heart disease.
This happens in the U.S. and in every other country around the world.
Even after a health need has been identified, many people with intellectual disabilities find it difficult if not impossible to get essential follow up care. And where would they go for care when over half of medical school deans and students report that graduates are not competent to treat people with intellectual disabilities?
Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation have stepped up providing more than $95 million to improve the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by expanding access to inclusive health.
This includes the global partnership with Special Olympics to launch and expand the successful Healthy Communities program, contributing more than $67 million to change the game and assure that people with intellectual disabilities can access health care in their communities year-round.
In addition, since 2012 more than $28 million has been contributed to support innovative community health centers and educational initiatives. These centers are pioneers and leaders in their fields – serving as national models of collaboration to achieve inclusive health.
Since 2012, Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation have partnered with Special Olympics to launch and expand Healthy Communities, contributing more than $67 million as of 2021, to change the game and assure that people with intellectual disabilities could access health care in their communities year-round. With a vision, commitment, and collaboration with the right partners, we deliver results. Special Olympics:
Capstone Report - 2016 - 2021
This report looks back on five years of Special Olympics Health work from 2016 to 2021. Healthy Communities is addressing the issues that create health inequities for people with intellectual disabilities and it is clear that the partnership between the Golisano Foundation and Special Olympics has made some extraordinary strides in inclusive health.
Despite the successes achieved to date, this work is not close to completion. The next five years will be even more exciting and filled with new possibilities, as Special Olympics seeks to grow its health footprint and reach an ever-expanding population in need. This will be accomplished by modernizing and further utilizing technology to allow for better electronic data collection, dissemination of information, and realization of measurable results faster through more evidence-based interventions.
Inclusive health is essential buy it takes a collective effort to make it happen. Organizations across the public health system can take action to remove barriers and improve access for people with ID to their services, as their patients, customers, beneficiaries, and clients.
See Resources, What You Can Do and How to Get Involved
COVID-19 Information & Resources
These resources may be used to inform others about the health status of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and how Special Olympics programming is changing knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes at the individual and systems levels. Evaluating this impact is critical to the Special Olympics movement.
2022
POLOKWANE, LIMPOPO – November 17-19, 2022 – Ann Costello, the Golisano Foundation Executive Director, visted this year’s Special Olympics South Africa National Games to witness the impact Tom Golisano's and the Golisano Foundation's global gifts have made on community health care for people with intellectual disabilities in South Africa. Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation have partnered with Special Olympics International on Healthy Communities, a global initiative on inclusive health, contributing more than $67 million over the past 10 years. Read more
September 19, 2022 – New York City, USA – Special Olympics and the Golisano Foundation celebrated a decade of global health accomplishments and trailblazers today at the Global Inclusive Health Leadership Summit and 2022 Global Golisano Health Leadership Awards presentation. Read more
2021
September 16, 2021– Special Olympics announced that it has received $30 million, its largest single private gift in the organization's 53-year history from Tom Golisano. This is Tom's third major gift to Special Olympics and his largest single gift to any organization. Funds will used to expand the Special Olympics Healthy Communities program, which provides health services globally for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), a population that has been critically undeserved, especially during the pandemic. “I am pleased to continue financial support for Special Olympics’ extraordinary health work, which is giving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities improved access to health services and the opportunity to live happier, more productive lives,” said Golisano. “Special Olympics’ impact on the health of people with ID is impressive – as is its strategy on how to build on this success over the next several years. The focus on measurement, standardization of practices, early diagnosis, a trained workforce, and health systems that demonstrate inclusive policies, will effectively position Special Olympics to further our mutual goal of health equity.” Read more
2020
Photo: Pan-African Games Health Screenings 2020
Special Olympics has created and shared a wide range of resources for athletes, coaches, volunteers, families and more around the world:
2019
2019-19 Special Olympics Health Reach Report -- In Healthy Communities, the gap between identification and referral to treatment is closing through community partner engagement, ongoing wellness programming, and advocacy training. Since July 2012, Special Olympics has partnered with the Golisano Foundation to improve the health status of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and increase their access to quality health care and services. This report covers the work that has occurred through Special Olympics Health from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. Special Olympics is driving change in communities and influencing health systems around the world to create a tipping point for inclusive health for all people with ID. This report covers three main focus areas that align with the five-year strategic plan for Special Olympics Health: the programmatic activities of Special Olympics, how Special Olympics is influencing and driving inclusive health systems, and the ways in which members of the Special Olympics community are activated to build awareness.
August 15-17, 2019––It was a week of hope for Special Olympics Kenya when Ann Costello visited to see the progress of Healthy Communities. The initiative to expand access to inclusive health for people with intellectual disabilities was launched in 2012 and expanded in 2015 with gifts of $37 million from Tom Golisano and has improved the health of people in Kenya with intellectual disabilities.
Kenya Visit Photo Album August 2019
Boost for athletes with intellectual disability – Daily Nation – Aug 15, 2019
Special Olympics Kenya gets thumbs up from US company – Standard Media Kenya – Aug 15, 2019
2018
(As of April 2018)
2017
Special Olympics has the unique ability to reach people with intellectual disabilities around the world, making it possible to target health-care disparities and bring them improved health.
Healthy Communities locations as of 2017 are marked in purple: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Bangladesh, Belgium, British Columbia, Chile, Connecticut, China, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Florida, Hawaii, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nebraska, Netherlands, New Jersey, Nigeria, North Carolina, Mauritius, Mexico, Missouri, Mongolia, Ontario, Paraguay, Poland, Prince Edward Island, Romania, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, Wisconsin
Partnering with Special Olympics, each day we are opening new doors to inclusive health around the world. Our goal is to to achieve 100 Healthy Communities worldwide and improve access to quality health for 11 million people with intellectual disabilities by 2020.
Reaching both of these targets requires changing, influencing and strengthening communities, governments, organizations and the healthcare system. Special Olympics is doing this through influencing the reform of national health systems, training healthcare providers, developing partnerships to connect Special Olympics athletes to follow-up care in their communities and through partnering with organizations, governments and companies to make inclusive health changes a priority.
2016
In 2016 in Austria at the Special Olympics World Winter Games we recognized the extraordinary results achieved with the first Golisano Global Health Leadership Awards.
The Golisano Health Leadership Awards recognize health champions - leaders and organizations - that are making a significant contribution to equal access to health, fitness and/or wellness for people with intellectual disabilities. The awards also promote awareness for the progress and extraordinary efforts toward fulfilling the goals, values, and mission of Special Olympics health program. This is the highest Special Olympics honor for health partners.
There are four primary goals for these awards, distributed by local Special Olympics Programs:
1. Recognize those who are making a significant contribution to increasing access to inclusive health, fitness and/or wellness in the communities in which people with intellectual disabilities live.
2. Raise overall awareness of the issues of health disparities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities.
3. Inspire, motivate and recognize stakeholders, while engaging the broader health-focused Special Olympics audience to seek to replicate areas of success and key initiatives and partnerships.
4. Honor individuals and organizations committed to equitable health services for people with intellectual disabilities.
2015
In 2015 in Los Angeles for the Special Olympics World Summer Games Golisano Foundation Director, Ann Costello, announced that based on the success of Healthy Communities in the first three years, Tom Golisano would contribute $25 million more to expand Healthy Communities to more places around the world, to 100 communities by 2020. This was again the largest single gift Special Olympics had received from an individual and brought Tom’s investment in increasing global access to inclusive health with Special Olympics to $37 million.
The progress continues in more than 80 Healthy Communities programs now active in 54 countries on 6 continents around the world. Special Olympics is engaging with more universities to better prepare their students to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability. Now 84% of health providers feel better prepared to treat people with intellectual disabilities as a result of volunteering with Special Olympics.
The health of Special Olympics athletes is a key component of Special Olympics 2016-20 Strategic Plan. As part of the focus on improving athlete performance, Special Olympics is expanding its year-round focus on health and wellness programming. Special Olympics will be expanding its health program with the all-pervading goal of more inclusive societies where athletes are equipped to achieve their strongest performances on and off the field.
Special Olympics Programs are taking the next step to becoming Healthy Communities by implementing new three-year grants to focus on expanding their health work and impact. The Programs include: Arkansas, Australia, British Columbia, China, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Florida, Hawaii, Kenya, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Samoa and Uganda.
Healthy Communities is demonstrating that health remains a priority for the Special Olympics movement.
2012
Photo Gallery – $12 Million Gift to Special Olympics to Launch Healthy Communities
2012 was a pivotal year for people with intellectual disabilities.
On September 13, 2012 at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York City, Tom Golisano announced his initial gift of $12 million to launch Healthy Communities, an initiative to provide access to health care for people with intellectual disabilities into the communities where they live and beyond episodic health screenings at sports events.
Healthy Communities takes the principles of the Healthy Athletes program and expands them from a series of single events to a steady presence in the lives of our athletes and their families that includes a focus on follow-up care, wellness opportunities, access and education. This was the largest single gift ever received by Special Olympics.
What started with a series of conversations with Tom and Special Olympics (SO) Chairman Tim Shriver, has grown to become a movement that is advancing inclusive health in many communities around the world. It began with a pilot that included six US states (Arizona, Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Wisconsin and New York) and eight countries (Mexico, Peru, Romania, Malawi, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand and Kazakhstan). From remote villages in rural Malawi, to small towns in Peru, to top universities across the world to clinics in New York and Kansas, Healthy Communities began to transform the way communities, clinics, governments, businesses and sports address health and wellness for people with intellectual disabilities.
Healthy Communities was built on SO Healthy Athletes screening program, which has been highly successful providing health examinations for athletes at competitions but had limited ability to connect athletes with year-round quality health care.
It marked the start of an entirely new health programming model for Special Olympics, Healthy Communities.
This was not an easy task in any respect. But we took a highly strategic approach and focused on four key areas:
1. Infuse expanded health and wellness services, including those focused on diseases of extreme poverty, into all Special Olympics’ worldwide, year-round events & programming.
2. Create local Healthy Community networks for health providers engaged in Special Olympics' health work.
3. Create global Healthy Communities coalition of leading universities, businesses, non government organizations and governments that supports Specila Olympic's health work & increases access to health resources & services through macro-level action.
4. Develop world class bio-informatics to monitor health outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities to measure progress, inform public policy leaders, and demand health justice worldwide.
The results of the pilot were impressive.
2010
The Golisano Foundation partnered with Special Olympics in 2010 to host first regional "Train the Trainer” event, increasing the number of Clinical Directors to screen Special Olympic athletes and forging partnerships with local health care providers.
“This was the largest regional Healthy Athletes training program ever held, and we hope it will serve as a model for future such events throughout the United States,” said Ann Costello, Director of the Golisano Foundation.
With the help of the Golisano Foundation, 40 doctors and other health care professionals from New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, California, and Washington, D.C., were trained through the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program to screen individuals with intellectual disabilities participating in Special Olympics events.
Special Olympics senior clinicians led the training September 24 at the Radisson Hotel in Rochester, and Saturday September 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Thornell Farms Park, where 500 Special Olympics athletes participating in the Special Olympics New York Fall Classic Game and the majority received free health care screenings.
“I am pleased to play a role to enhance the Healthy Athletes program and am confidant that Special Olympics International will continue to break new ground, expand access and improve the quality of health care for individuals with intellectual disabilities,” said Golisano. “I look forward to great progress over the next few years on this important and exciting initiative.”
Expanding training and increasing the number of health care professionals capable of providing screenings at Special Olympics events will help meet the unmet healthcare needs of people with intellectual disabilities, and ensure that athletes can receive follow-up care.
Data at the time (2010) revealed through Healthy Athletes painted an overwhelming need for comprehensive health care among people with intellectual disabilities.
Reports
Special Olympics Health Annual Report 2019 - 2020
Special Olympics Health Annual Report 2018 - 2019
Special Olympics Health Annual Report 2017– 2018
Special Olympics Reach Report 2017
Healthy Communities Year 2 Progress Report
Healthy Communities Year 1 Progress Report
Resources
Special Olympics Health Case Statement
Inclusive Health Principles and Strategies: How to make your Practices Inclusive of People with Intellectual Disabilities
American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry
Health and Intellectual Disability
Golisano Global Health Leadership Awards
In the News
RIT honors Tom Golisano’s contributions as Champion for Global Health in new exhibit – Golisano Archives exhibit shares philanthropist’s commitment to Special Olympics and empowering people with intellectual disabilities
What Health Care Can and Should Be – Ann Costello, on Huffington Post
Special Olympics Receives Largest Gift in History from Tom Golisano – $25 million to expand Special Olympics' health services globally for people with intellectual disabilities, a population that lacks access to adequate healthcare and faces significant health disparities, July 2015
Tom Golisano Gives $12 million to Expand Special Olympics Health Services Worldwide
Photos: Planing for Healthy Communities in Florida
Latest Updates and News – Special Olympics Healthy Communities Web site
