By Bob Violino

June 22, 2009—Special Olympics, based in Washington, D.C., is an international organization that promotes understanding, acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the organization holds year-round sports training, athletic competitions and other programs for more than three million children and adults in 175 countries. In so doing, Special Olympics provides opportunities to those with intellectual disabilities, to develop physical fitness and confidence—and to realize their potential.

Special Olympics is a big believer in using the latest technology to improve processes and meet its goals. In 1997, the organization launched its Healthy Athletes initiative, a global effort to provide free health screenings to athletes in seven areas: vision, hearing, oral health, lifestyle, general fitness, podiatry and sports physicals. In 2003, the organization introduced the Healthy Athletes Software (HAS) database, a Web-based software program created to store the collected health-screening information. And in 2006, it began field-testing a radio frequency identification system, provided by Fudan Microelectronics of Shanghai, China, to facilitate the health screenings and transmit the information to the HAS database.

When athletes check in for an event, they are issued a Healthy Athlete Pass—an RFID-enabled ID card loaded with information such as their name, age and nationality.

Since its inception, the program has provided more than 700,000 health screenings to individuals in more than 100 countries, and trained more than 75,000 health-care professionals from around the world regarding specific health concerns. Special Olympics reports that it is now the largest public health organization for those with intellectual disabilities, who typically receive sub-standard health care—or virtually no health care at all.