Kaiser Permanente and Tim Shriver Kick Off 100 Day Countdown to 2018 Special Olympics USA Games

Team Washington athletes will be celebrated in send-off event Tuesday

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Mar 26, 2018, 08:44 ET

SEATTLE, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the official health partner for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, Kaiser Permanente Washington welcomes Tim Shriver, international chairman of the board of directors for Special Olympics, and the Washington team of 247 Special Olympics athletes for a send-off celebration Tuesday.

The event is part of the final countdown to the USA Games, which will be hosted in Seattle July 1-6, 2018.

The USA Games, which take place every four years, are a premier national sports competition that showcases the power and joy of sports at the highest levels. This year, more than 4,000 athletes and coaches from all over the United States will descend upon Seattle and the surrounding region for the competition. Ten thousand family members and more than 70,000 spectators are expected to cheer on their favorite athletes.

Events in 14 sports will be hosted at eight locations across Puget Sound, including Angle Lake, where Special Olympics Ambassador Devon Adelman will be competing on Stand Up Paddleboard. Adelman, one of the Team Washington athletes, says, "It means a lot for the games to come to Seattle because Seattle is becoming a city of inclusion. This is a life-changing opportunity for the athletes to come from all over the nation to compete."

Kaiser Permanente physicians will oversee medical care for the athletes at the games, providing services and support to ensure their safety and comfort during the competition.

Shriver will welcome the athletes of Team Washington and share inspiring remarks about his organization, which serves more than 5.6 million Special Olympics Athletes in 172 countries. Additionally, a Team Washington flag, which will cover an entire side of a Kaiser Permanente building, will be unveiled during the presentation.

The celebration is scheduled for March 27 at Kaiser Permanente's Renton Administrative campus.

Follow Special Olympics Washington

For more information on the Special Olympics Washington, please visit www.specialolympicswashington.org and follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsWa/; Twitter at https://twitter.com/SO_Washington; Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/specialolympicswashington/

About the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games

The Special Olympics USA Games are scheduled from July 1-6, 2018, in Seattle, Washington. Nearly 3,500 athletes will compete in an array of Olympic-type team and individual sports, with the support of 1,000 coaches, and tens of thousands of volunteers and spectators. The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will celebrate the Special Olympics movement, promote the ideals of acceptance and inclusion through sport, and showcase the abilities of athletes with intellectual disabilities who compete from throughout the U.S. The 2018 USA Games will also highlight Special Olympics' work in sports, education, health and community-building.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 11.8 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact: Sally Mildren, [email protected]
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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente