Stephen S. Haas, M.D., Air Force veteran, former orthopedic consultant to the White House and nationally recognized sports medicine researcher and pioneer, died on February 23, 2024, at the age of 84 in Washington, D.C.
Stephen Haas, M.D., Professor/White House Consultant Dies, Age 84
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Remembrances#obituary#stephenhaas
Haas along with his colleague Carl MacCartee, M.D., co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic surgery practice, MacCartee & Hass, in 1975.
The practice grew and became Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, which is considered one of the premier orthopedic and sports medicine practice in mid-Atlantic region.
Haas was also a clinical professor of orthopedics at George Washington University and chaired Sibley Memorial Hospital’s orthopedic surgery department from 1996 to 2006.
Highly respected and revered in the world of orthopedics and sports medicine, Dr. Haas served as an orthopedic consultant to the White House medical staff for 16 years and was the team physician for several professional athletic teams including the 1996 gold medal-winning USA Olympic Basketball Team.
Although Dr. Haas retired in 2009, he never completely left medicine serving as medical director of the NFL Player Medical Benefits Plan and co-hosted and founded the popular podcast Bone Docs.
Dr. Haas earned his medical degree in 1965 from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and then chose George Washington University for his internship and residency in general and orthopedic surgery.
From 1967 to 1969, Dr. Haas served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. His service to his country during those difficult years of the Vietnam War drew the notice of President Lyndon B. Johnson who called Dr. Hass’s mother to thank her for raising “a great American!”
Haas is survived by his wife of 44 years Barbara B. Hass, his son and daughter, two stepchildren and his six grandchildren. He also leaves behind his brother Clifford Haas.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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