Athletes get free health screenings
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
For the 800 athletes and coaches who gathered yesterday at Kamehameha Schools for Special Olympics Hawai'i, the extra special event was the grand opening of the Healthy Athlete Village.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
"When they looked at people with mental retardation, they found that their healthcare needs were really lacking," said Nancy Bottelo, president of Special Olympics Hawai'i.
Kealoha Laemoa, 24, of Moloka'i, waits to get her eyes examined during the Special Olympics annual summer games at Kamehameha Schools. This year marked the grand opening of the games' Healthy Athlete Village.
This led to Hawai'i offering free health screenings for athletes for the first time this year, said Bottelo. As power lifters and swimmers competed nearby, dozens of volunteer doctors and assistants were giving dental and vision exams to athletes.
Kealoha Laemoa, 24, of Moloka'i, had her eyes checked for a free pair of prescription glasses. Earlier, she had captured two Track & Field gold medals.
"One medal is for the shot put," said Laemoa, who is an intake specialist for the Ho'ikaika Youth Opportunity program on Moloka'i. "I threw the 8-pound shot put 5.17 meters. And the other gold medal is for the 100-meter walk."
Bottelo said hearing tests will be added next year.
If you can't hear the starting gun, see your opponents or if your teeth are in pain, it's not possible to reach peak performance, she said.
Yesterday turned out to be a two-way learning experience.
"There were health providers who didn't feel comfortable working with disabled individuals," said Karen Hu, chief of the Hospital & Community Dental Services Branch, who organized the dental screenings. "So this is an education for the dental hygiene students, assistants and providers."
The mother of one athlete, who had not been able to afford an eye exam for her daughter, wept with joy at the sight of her daughter picking out frames for her new eyeglasses.
"This has been a very special day," said Noreen Conlin, director of public relations and development for Special Olympics Hawai'i.
