Virginia orthopaedic surgeon featured for redefining geriatric fracture care
In an interview with Becker’s Spine Review, VCU Health’s Stephen Kates lays out his pioneering work to improve orthopaedic care for older adults.
October 29, 2025
Stephen Kates, M.D. (center), standardized practices such as reduced wait times for geriatric fracture surgeries and avoiding unnecessary medications. (Daniel Sangjib Min, MCV Foundation)
By Sara McCloskey-Nieves
As older adults are living longer and staying more active, physicians across the United States are modernizing their approach to treating broken bones and replacing joints.
Stephen Kates, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon, is leading those efforts at VCU Health and has pioneered an orthopaedic care framework used internationally. He was recently interviewed by Becker’s Spine Review for his instrumental work in redefining the field of geriatric fracture care.
“We’re seeing patients in their 90s who are still active and independent,” Kates said. “Maybe they had a joint replacement at 70, and now, 25 years later, the implant needs to be redone. We teach our trainees how to handle these situations safely.”
Stephen Kates, M.D., is an orthopaedic surgeon at VCU Health, chair of the VCU School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics and the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Chair in Orthopaedics. (Tom Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
His framework emphasizes safety, efficiency and minimizing complications, which is especially important for older patients who may not tolerate multiple surgeries. This approach includes improving pre- and postsurgical care, such as shorter wait times for surgery and better coordination between the hospital and rehabilitation facility to reduce the need for readmissions.
As the chair of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Chair in Orthopaedics, Kates is also responsible for training the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons. During the interview with Sophie Eydis from Becker’s Spine Review, Kates emphasized the importance of caring for the whole person, not just the broken hip.
“We need to look at the whole patient,” he said. “Fix their vitamin D, treat their osteoporosis and make sure they have high-quality rehabilitation. It’s not just about the broken hip — it’s about getting them back to a comfortable, safe life.”
The quality of orthopaedic care at VCU Health’s flagship hospital, VCU Medical Center, is not only known by patients around the Richmond region – it’s also recognized nationally. In July, U.S. News and World Report ranked orthopaedics at VCU Medical Center among the nation’s Top 50 for the 2025-26 Best Hospital rankings.
Read the Becker’s Spine Review article on VCU Health’s Stephen Kates
