Free symposium offers wide range of national speakers on intellectual and developmental disabilities
Individuals interested in the health of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities are invited to attend a free Special Olympics Health Symposium on Saturday, July 17.
The symposium — titled “Improving Health for People with Intellectual Disabilities – Policy, Practice and Possibility” — runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Durham Research Center auditorium on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus at 45th & Emile streets in Omaha.
The event precedes the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games in Lincoln on July 18-23, in which nearly 3,000 athletes are expected to compete in 13 Olympic-style sports.
Timothy Shriver, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, will present the symposium’s keynote address on how we must close the gap on the unmet health needs for people with intellectual disabilities.
Additional speakers include:
· Gloria Krahn, director, Division of Human Development and Disability, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
· Jodi Fenner, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services;
· J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D., director of the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute;
· Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at UNMC;
· Richard Besser, M.D., senior health and medical editor at ABC News;
· Rick Rader, M.D., editor-in-chief, Exceptional Parent Magazine;
· Steve Eidelman, co-director, the National Leadership Consortium and former executive director, The Arc of the United States; and
· Stanley Shepherd, M.D., chairman and co-founder, Health One Global Ltd.
The symposium is directed toward individuals interested in the health of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities including:individuals with ID/DD, family and friends, health care and allied health care professionals and students, educators, child care providers, youth groups, service providers, representatives of governmental or advocacy agencies, policy makers and media.
The UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute, the American Association of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, Special Olympics International and Exceptional Parent Magazine are sponsors of the event.
Registration and lunch are free but participants must register by July 13.
For the full agenda and registration, visit the website at www.unmc.edu/mmi/specialolympics.htm. To register by phone or e-mail, please contact: Kellie Ellerbusch at (402) 559-4892 orKEllerbusch@unmc.edu.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.