{"id":387147,"date":"2025-11-18T08:22:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T08:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/387147\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T08:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T08:22:14","slug":"well-known-syracuse-sports-doctor-is-among-4-jumping-to-a-new-medical-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/387147\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-known Syracuse sports doctor is among 4 jumping to a new medical team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Syracuse, NY \u2014 Dr. Bradley Raphael, a sports orthopedist who has cared for many local high school and college athletes, is switching teams.<\/p>\n

Raphael is among four bone and joint doctors who are leaving Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS) for St. Joseph\u2019s Physicians on Dec. 1, Raphael told syracuse.com.<\/p>\n

The move will resurrect an orthopedics practice at St. Joe\u2019s, which has not had such specialists in recent years. It\u2019s a significant shift in the lucrative business of orthopedics here and is intended to alleviate some of St. Joe\u2019s financial pressures. <\/p>\n

Their new office, St. Joseph\u2019s Health Orthopedics and Spine Care, will operate out of a renovated suite on the first floor of the Northeast Medical Center in Fayetteville. <\/p>\n

Also leaving SOS for St. Joe\u2019s with Raphael will be Dr. Kevin Kopko, a joint replacement specialist, and spinal surgeons Dr. Aaron Bianco and Dr. Justin Iorio.<\/p>\n

Raphael is well-known in Syracuse University athletics circles. His father, Dr. Irving Raphael, was SU\u2019s team doctor for many years, a position that the younger Raphael held<\/a> before focusing on the basketball team. <\/p>\n

\"RaphaelIn 2011 photo: Assistant Syracuse University team physician, Dr. Bradley Raphael (left), and his father, Dr. Irving Raphael, head Syracuse University athletic team physician. Dennis Nett\/The Post-StandardDennis Nett<\/p>\n

Until the past year or so, the younger Raphael still traveled with the SU men\u2019s hoops squad<\/a> as team orthopedist, he said. His orthopedic training in 2011 included time in Inglewood, California, with team doctors for the Los Angeles Lakers, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Dodgers and the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n

At St. Joe\u2019s, Raphael will hold the title of sports medicine director. It\u2019s part of a dream he\u2019s had to bring care for athletes under one umbrella, from primary care to cardiac care to orthopedics. <\/p>\n

Raphael said he and the others see advantages in joining a larger health network. St. Joe\u2019s is part of the national Catholic health care chain, Trinity Health. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe care is not going to change,\u201d he said. \u201cThe difference is the breadth of support. It opens up (the expertise of) a whole new health system.\u201d <\/p>\n

For the doctors, joining St. Joe\u2019s also means less time worrying about running a private practice, like SOS, and more time focusing on medicine and collaboration with others in the Trinity network, Raphael said.<\/p>\n

Bringing these four specialists into its fold is also a big win for St. Joe\u2019s. The hospital system has publicized its struggles to create enough revenue<\/a> to pay for its safety-net care, like its emergency psychiatric program and large Medicaid patient population.<\/p>\n

Cardiac and orthopedic care are considered among St. Joe\u2019s core service lines, said Julianne Himes, president of St. Joseph\u2019s Physicians.<\/p>\n

Those are also specialties that can bring in high numbers of patients with commercial insurance, which pays significantly more than Medicaid or Medicare. <\/p>\n

St. Joe\u2019s only gets roughly 25% of its revenue from commercial insurance<\/a>, such as employer-sponsored Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. Those can pay 1 1\/2 times more than Medicare, which itself pays significantly more than Medicaid. <\/p>\n

Raphael\u2019s focus on athletes means he\u2019s paid commercial insurance for roughly 40% of his clients, he said. <\/p>\n

So when Raphael and the other doctors approached St. Joe\u2019s about joining forces, the hospital network saw the potential benefits immediately, Himes said.<\/p>\n

Not only is athletics a big business in Syracuse, but the aging population will mean more joint and spine business going forward, she said. <\/p>\n

St. Joseph\u2019s doctors already make 500 orthopedic referrals each month, she said. Now, some of those procedures will remain in the hospital\u2019s network. <\/p>\n

Some of the doctors already do surgeries at St. Joe\u2019s, including Raphael. In fact, the first sports surgery he performed in 2011 was at a St. Joe\u2019s facility, he said. <\/p>\n

But 99% of Raphael\u2019s care is provided outside the hospital, he said. Patients who undergo spine surgeries are much more likely to be in-patient at St. Joe\u2019s hospital. <\/p>\n

Kafko will lead the joint surgery practice, while Iorio will lead the spinal surgery practice. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some background on each of the doctors: <\/p>\n