VIRTUAL HEALTH & WELLNESS FORUM – Let’s Get Moving!

Click HERE to register for the April Forum

This presentation will focus on how to be ready to transition from a cold winter where many of us have been much less active to the spring athletic season. We’ll discuss how to have your mind and body ready for new challenges by setting realistic goals and safely resuming physical activity. We will also discuss steps you can take to stay healthy as the weather gets warmer. Come ready to learn some new things and get your body moving. We will have time to participate in a few minutes of physical activity together as a group, this will be adaptable to all physical ability levels. 

The forum will be recorded and posted to our website for viewing after the live offering is complete. 

Speaker Bios: 

Carrie Delong, RN (Director of Healthcare Management at Care Design NY):  

Carrie DeLong is a Registered Nurse and serves as the Director of Healthcare Management for Care Design NY & Partners Health Plan, organizations that support individuals and families in the intellectual/developmental disabilities field. She has worked in various IDD settings in her career including Day Programs, Clinics, Residential Programs, and Staff Training. The focus of her work has been ensuring that persons with IDD receive equal access to healthcare and are empowered to self-advocate. Through her passion for assisting persons with IDD and their circle of support to understand their health conditions and how to manage them, she has helped people in achieving their personal goals including optimal independence and career advancement. She is an active participant in the NYS Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association and has recently assumed the role of Co-Chair for Zone 4. 

Ned Norton – Founder of Warrior on Wheels 

For the past 35 years, Ned Norton has dedicated himself to providing free strength and conditioning rehabilitative fitness training for hundreds of people with disabilities through his non-profit “Warriors on Wheels”. From his gym (Warriors Gym) located in a public housing highrise, his program promotes the opportunity for people with disabilities to empower themselves to greater independence while enhancing their capacity to live a vibrant, purposeful life.  

Norton served for 25 years, as a NYS Special Olympics Regional Sport Coordinator (Powerlifting). This included ‘Annual Meet Director’ for Special Olympics Summer Sectionals Powerlifting held at Univ. Albany and as an official at the NYS Special Olympics Summer State games!    

A 2014 Top Ten CNN Heroes award winner, Norton started The Hercules Project in answer to a challenge from a person who worked with landmine survivors in Cambodia who had viewed the CNN broadcast. Through The Hercules Project, Norton donates free fitness/rehabilitation equipment to rehab centers in war-torn areas serving landmine survivors, and people with disabilities worldwide. Among other honors and awards, he has been profiled in Sports Illustrated and Muscle & Fitness magazines, in addition to performing at the Great American Workout on the South Lawn of the White House, meeting President Bush. 

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The Special Olympics New York Virtual Health & Wellness Forums are a space for individuals with ID, families, caregivers and coaches to engage with health-focused individuals/organizations such as Healthcare Providers and Fitness Specialists. The Forums provide information and resources related to the health of Special Olympics athletes, while also focusing on bettering access to health care, education and inclusive activities for people with intellectual disabilities.  Often, the health struggles that those with ID face are directly related to the lack of education and resources available to the population and their caregivers.  We aim to cover topical issues that our community wishes to learn more about, and in turn positively impact the health of people with ID across the State. 

Forums are presentation based with the opportunity to submit questions to the speaker.  Participants are asked to register with the Zoom links below.  Recordings will be available to view on our website after the live presentation is complete! The Special Olympics New York Virtual Health & Wellness Forums are sponsored by Care Design New York & Partners Health Plan.