NATA Now

By Jennifer Raybern, MS, ATC, CSCS, and Emma Nye, DAT, LAT, ATC

NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee

Editor’s note: Throughout June, NATA News will share content written by members of the NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee related to different facets of LGBTQ+ health and patient care. For more information about transgender patient care and developing a transgender policy, read the latest Sports Medicine Legal Digest.

“COVID-19 teaches us that we are part of something far greater than ourselves,” said Kristinn Heinrichs, PhD, ATC, PT, an athletic trainer in Vicenza, Italy. The coronavirus pandemic has known no bounds; it doesn’t see territory lines or know cultural differences, it has affected athletic trainers in every part of the world. 

How Heinrichs, an athletic trainer specializing in patients with complex concussions in northern Italy,found some peace during the past three months has been through reflection on maintaining priorities and a daily routine, she said.

Mark your calendar! The 2020 NATA Virtual Clinical Symposia & AT Expo is July 13-16. VNATA 2020 is the premier educational experience for athletic trainers, athletic therapists, sport rehabilitators and other similar health care providers around the globe. VNATA 2020 will feature:

By Lorin Cartwright, MS, ATC, CAA, Sean Rogers, DAT, ATC, and Rebecca Lopez, PhD, ATC, CSCS

NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee

Editor’s note: Throughout June, NATA News will share content written by members of the NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee related to different facets of LGBTQ+ health and patient care. For more information about transgender patient care and developing a transgender policy, read the latest Sports Medicine Legal Digest.

By Kiah Sundermeir, MA, ATC, Preslee Rivera, ATS, Ney Jimmy Rodríguez, ATS

Editor’s note: Throughout June, NATA News will share content written by members of the NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee related to different facets of LGBTQ+ health and patient care.

The past few months have been incredibly difficult. Disparities, inequality, xenophobia and racial injustice have been brought to the forefront of our society. Like many of you, NATA is deeply disturbed and angered by the senseless loss of life due to prejudice and racial injustice.

The well-being, rights and dignity of humans are unalienable. We stand firmly on the side of justice and in support of active solutions that bring us together as a nation and fosters the appreciation and uniqueness of all people – regardless of race, where they live or who they love.

The COVID-19 pandemic left gyms, fitness centers, school athletic facilities and some outdoor recreation areas across the globe closed for months at a time. Only within the past couple of weeks have these places, all where athletes are used to going to maintain physical and athletic capacity, begun to reopen with limited capacity.

By Lorin Cartwright, MS, ATC, CAA, Timothy Neal, MS, AT, ATC, and Sean Rogers, DAT, ATC, NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee

The minority stress theory suggests that sexual minorities, underrepresented gender identities as well as queer and other sexual identities (LGBTQ+) commonly experience distinct and chronic stressors related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Societal shifts in understanding of various gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations began with major advocacy, education and research efforts in the 1980s.

By Ami Adams, MS, ATC, CES, NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee

Mental health is a vital component in overall wellness, and it is highlighted especially within the LGBTQ+ community.

All athletic training state practice acts allow for athletic trainers to deliver physical medicine and rehabilitation services that are potentially billable, and most allow for the possibility of billing insurance companies; however, there is a very small percentage of ATs who are billing successfully and being reimbursed for their services.