Geriatric Fracture Care Expert Joins Orthopaedic Faculty

Stephen Kates, M.D.

The nationally ranked Department of Orthopaedics has recruited a well-known Rochester surgeon to its faculty. Stephen L. Kates, M.D., will officially join as an associate professor of Orthopaedics effective Sept. 1. He will practice out of Highland Hospital, where Kates currently performs the majority of his inpatient surgeries.

An internationally respected orthopaedic surgeon and teacher, Kates has operated a private medical practice in Rochester for nearly 20 years specializing in adult reconstruction of joints, joint replacement, metabolic bone disease and geriatric care. In collaboration with URMC Assistant Professor Daniel A. Mendelson, M.S., M.D., Kates co-founded the Geriatric Fracture Center at Highland Hospital in 2004, which introduced a new approach to care for fractures in elderly patients. In just four years, the Center has reduced patients’ length of hospitalization, complication rates, and rates of readmission, and now is serving as a model for hospitals nationwide and abroad to replicate.

“Dr. Kates is a wonderful addition to our faculty,” said Regis O’Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and director of the Musculoskeletal IDP. “He is highly respected for his expertise as a surgeon, his dedication to advancing geriatric fracture care and his passion for teaching. His accomplishments strengthen our department’s continued leadership in orthopaedic research and clinical care.”

Kates is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Geriatrics Society, and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. He is a teaching faculty member of AO North America, a nonprofit organization led by surgeons from around the world who specialize in the treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Kates also is the recipient of many teaching awards and professional honors, and was listed in America’s Top Surgeons guide for 2006-2008. He received the 2006 Rochester Business Journal Healthcare Achievement Award for Healthcare Innovation. He is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Northwestern University and completed his residency in orthopaedics at the University of Rochester Medical School. Kates has published numerous articles on osteoporosis, the Geriatric Fracture Center as a model of care, and traumatic injuries of the knee and hip. Click here for complete CV.