Dr. Jill Friebele is a board certified pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California, specializing in complex orthopedic care, clubfoot and congenital deformities, neuromuscular disorders, trauma, and sports-related injuries.
In addition to her clinical duties, Dr. Friebele (affectionately called "Dr. Jill" by her patients) serves as the director of Valley Children's Adaptive Sports Program, the only one of its kind in Central California, which provides free recreational and athletic experiences for youth with physical disabilities or mobility impairments. The innovative program uses sports as a platform to help boost participants' self-esteem, build community, encourage a healthy lifestyle, and increase independence, all with the ultimate goal of helping children find joy in movement. To help sustain and grow the donor-funded program, Dr. Friebele has been instrumental in the program's successful grant applications from various organizations, resulting in funding from the Dicks Sporting Goods Sports Matter Grant, the Ace Hardware Grant, the 2024 Wheelchair Tennis National Grassroots Grant, and the Athletes Helping Athletes Grant. She has also written letters on behalf of program athletes who have applied for their own grants to receive personal adaptive equipment.
As a lifelong sports fan, Dr. Friebele has participated in everything from soccer to swimming and ATV riding to water polo. Her approach to advocacy work is reflected in her mantra: "Have fun, be a kid, play sports!"
Through her work at Valley Children's Hospital and throughout the Central Valley, Dr. Friebele champions health and opportunities for all youth and is an advocate for awareness and change. Her practice philosophy centers on inclusion, advocacy, diversity, and community service. And truly, she leads by example; Dr. Friebele serves on the Board of Directors for Cen Cal Sports, a nonprofit organization that provides athletic and academic opportunities for underserved youth in the Central Valley. As an orthopedic clinical fellow, she volunteered with the Perry Initiative, a program created by female orthopedic surgeons and engineers to inspire young women to become leaders in orthopaedics and engineering. She is also a member of Health Volunteers Overseas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the availability and quality of healthcare in developing countries, and has participated in a number of medical missions.
More locally, Dr. Friebele enjoys mentoring students of all ages and fostering a curiosity about careers in medicine. She is a faculty member at several schools, including UCSF Fresno Doctors Academy, UCSF Fresno-Central San Joaquin Valley Medical School, UCSF Fresno Orthopedic Residency Program, and the Valley Consortium for Medical Education Orthopedic Surgery Residency of Modesto. Dr. Friebele is also a faculty member of Valley Children's Pediatric Residency Program and has served as the program's orthopedic rotation director since the program's inception in 2017. Her mentorship extends well beyond the Valley, as well; since 2019, Dr. Friebele has been a faculty member of Shriners Hospital of Northern California's Annual PediOrtho WEST Resident Education Course, a dynamic skills lab and lecture-based module for orthopedic surgery residents between their first and third post-graduate years.
After receiving her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, Dr. Friebele completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. She then went on to complete a clinical fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at the University of California, Davis, and Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California in Sacramento, California.
In addition to her successful grant applications on behalf of Valley Children's Adaptive Sports Program, Dr. Friebele has been awarded a number of grants, awards, and scholarships over the course of an impressive academic career, including the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Society Tuition Scholarship in 2011 and 2013, and the AAP Section on Orthopaedics Global Outreach Mentored Scholarship award in 2014. She has also contributed to advancing the field of orthopedics in a variety of topics, including research projects and presentations on cerebral palsy, foot deformities, pediatric fractures, orthopedic infections, and skeletal dysplasia. She has also published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.
In her free time, Dr. Friebele enjoys traveling and a variety of sports and outdoor activities, including hiking, swimming and water sports, triathlons, obstacle courses, and aerial arts. She is a mom to two "wonderful and wild" boys who enjoy helping out with their mom's nonprofit organizations and community projects. Together, her family enjoys participating in sports and other opportunities to be active. Dr. Friebele values a well-rounded approach to life and is always up for an adventure.