Nursing Students Volunteer at Special Olympics NY Winter Games

• This February, nursing students volunteered at Special Olympics NY’s Winter Games to provide educational resources to athletes and to learn more about providing inclusive healthcare.
• There were nearly 600 athletes at Special Olympics NY, competing in 22 different events. They are part of the larger 31,000 athletes that compete in the Special Olympics across the country.
• Volunteering at Special Olympics NY gave nursing students the opportunity to learn the specific headships patients with intellectual disabilities face and provide them with healthcare resources.

At the Special Olympics NY Winter Games, nursing students at local colleges volunteered their time to provide health resources to athletes and to learn more about inclusive healthcare. Nursing students at colleges like Cayuga Community College have been volunteering at Special Olympics NY for over three years.

This article will explore the services provided by Special Olympics, including their inclusive healthcare initiatives, and how volunteering impacted the nursing students in attendance.

Special Olympics NY

Special Olympics NY serves over 31,000 athletes training at the local, regional, and statewide levels. These games aim to tackle inactivity, stigma, isolation, and injustice faced by those with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics NY provides programming in sports, health, education, and community building through a variety of services, including Olympic-style athletic events. Athletes can train to compete in one of the 22 official sports: Alpine Skiing, Aquatics (Swimming), Athletics, Basketball, Bocce, Bowling, Cross Country Running, Cycling, Equestrian, Figure Skating, Floor Hockey, golf, Gymnastics, Nordic Skiing, Powerlifting, Roller Skating, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.

Inclusive Healthcare at the Special Olympics

Alongside these events, Special Olympics NY collaborates with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote inclusive healthcare for Americans with intellectual disabilities. Properly training the health workforce and partnering with health systems are two prominent inclusive healthcare initiatives at Special Olympics.

Health Workforce

One of the primary goals of the Special Olympics’ inclusive healthcare program is to properly train the healthcare workforce on the specific needs and hardships of patients with intellectual disabilities. For nurses, this initiative can help them advocate for the 6.5 million American’s with intellectual disabilities.

Here are some statistics on healthcare outcomes for patients with intellectual disabilities (ID) provided by the Special Olympics’ Center for Inclusive Health:

• Patients with ID are 3x more likely to have arthritis
• Patients with ID are 5x more likely to have diabetes
• Patients with ID are 2x more likely to have died before 50
• Patients with ID are 3x more likely to be admitted to the hospital by ER doctors
• Patients with ID are 2x more likely to be obese
• Patients with ID are 2x more likely to have cardiovascular disease and asthma

Nurses can also utilize this resource to learn principles and strategies to make healthcare more inclusive for patients with intellectual disabilities.

Partnerships with Health Systems

Special Olympics has partnered with over 100 organizations and healthcare systems across the globe. These include hospitals across the country, United Nations agencies, and legislative advocacy groups.

Nurse Volunteers from Cayuga Community College

This February, the Special Olympics NY Winter Games were held at the Oncenter in Syracuse. Nursing students from several local colleges volunteered at the games and met with the 600 athletes participating.

Nurses at the event explain the invaluable experience they gain from volunteering by working together as a team and providing resources to the athletes.

Nurses often work as liaisons, advocating for their patients in larger healthcare teams. Volunteering at Special Olympics NY gives these nursing students the opportunity to learn what patients with intellectual disabilities may need from them and how they can provide the best care possible throughout their careers.

Outreach events like this for nursing students have likely contributed to their success entering the workforce. All of Cayuga Community College’s graduates from 2021 to 2023 passed the NCLEX on their first attempt.

The Bottom Line

Empathy and compassion are essential values for nurses as they work with patients of all kinds throughout their careers. Instilling curiosity early on in nursing school allows these nurses to broaden their understanding of equitable and inclusive healthcare.

Nurses at Special Olympics NY provided vital support to these athletes and showcased a dedication to caring for the community that will follow them in their careers.  

Read More