The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® initiative, developed in 1996, is designed to improve the health and well-being of Special Olympics athletes. This is accomplished through free screenings offered by a variety of health care professionals at competitions. Currently, there are seven Healthy Athletes disciplines: Fit Feet, FUNfitness, Health Promotion, Healthy Hearing, MedFest, Opening Eyes® and Special Smiles®. Each discipline relies on Clinical Directors to offer much-needed health care to a medically underserved population – people with intellectual disabilities.

A Clinical Director is a licensed medical professional who is trained through Special Olympics International at no cost to them. They donate their time throughout the year and are in charge of setting up clinics and screenings at Special Olympics competitions. These competitions include five state-level competitions in the Twin Cities metro area, and ideally, two to three other regional or local competitions. Other responsibilities include helping to recruit medical volunteers, overseeing volunteer training and obtaining product donations and display items for health screenings.

Carol Dahlke has been a registered hygienist for 25 years and serves as the Clinical Director for Healthy Athletes Special Smiles® in Minnesota. Her involvement with the program began in 2000, and in 2004, she took part in the training program to become a Clinical Director.

"I knew there was a need, and I knew I could provide the resources. I have the education, and I needed to give back to my community," said Dahlke. "As professionals, because of the training we have, all of us should give back to the community, but most of us do not."

Dahlke has only positive things to say about her experiences with athletes through the Healthy Athletes program. Dahlke said, "I’ve found it completely amazing. The things I’ve learned from the athletes – you can’t learn that in a classroom. The compassion they teach you, the patience and a lot of the humor that goes along with seeing some of the athletes. Those are all things you’ll never get in a classroom."

Currently, Special Olympics Minnesota has one or two Clinical Directors for each of the seven disciplines. With each additional Clinical Director who volunteers his or her time, Special Olympics Minnesota is able to serve a greater number of athletes. While state competitions are held in the metro area, there are many opportunities for licensed professionals living in greater Minnesota as well.