Two Athletic Trainers from Compass Memorial Healthcare were recently honored for their outstanding contributions to the profession—both on the sidelines and through advocacy.
"Dickey really cares for her athletes and secondary schools in general,” and has remained committed to the high school level. “Sometimes the secondary school can be used as a step-off point,” Freiburger noted, “but Ashley stayed.”
The award was presented at the IATS conference on April 11. Dickey and Freiburger co-chair the IATS Secondary School Committee, spearheading initiatives like Inked by IATS, which gave temporary tattoos to qualifying athletic trainers and their teams during the state basketball tournament to raise awareness.
“Athletic trainers stay in the background,” said Dickey. “They aren’t in the championship photos. It’s just a huge honor to be recognized.”
Freiburger, who has served Williamsburg High School for over five years, was honored with the 2025 Health Care Innovation Award from A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Science. Nominated by Dr. Tamara McCloud and Professor Alison Valier, Freiburger was recognized for her work in identifying and addressing social determinants of health in Athletic Training.
“Determinants are things that impact quality of life,” she explained, citing issues like food insecurity, safe housing, and health care access. “Just being in a rural community creates barriers,” she said. “Iowa has a lot of health care deserts.”
Her research and advocacy aim to equip Athletic Trainers to deliver whole-person care.
“It’s a passion of mine. Makes me a better Athletic Trainer.”
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