Charities Guild Is Proud to Announce Dr. Nicholas T. Gates as Co-Chair for the 2011 Happy Feet Ball
August 9, 2011
"Too many times, people don't see a specialist soon enough," says Nicholas T. Gates, M.D. "I do a better job of taking care of people if I catch them before certain things have gotten bad; their options are better." Dr. Gates is the only foot and ankle specialist in Northern Kentucky who is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, and the Pedorthic Footwear Association. Dr. Gates' practice has been dedicated to reconstruction and sports medicine of the foot and ankle since 1998 and includes ankle arthroscopy, fractures, Achilles tendon disorders, total ankle replacement and forefoot reconstruction. He also treats foot, ankle and leg injuries in athletes, including runners.

What Dr. Gates enjoys most about his practice is that he is able to practice the complete depth and breadth of orthopaedics - but focusing on the foot and ankle. "It's not limited to one type of procedure," he explains, "It's sports medicine, trauma, injuries, foot and ankle reconstruction and ankle replacement and more."

Dr. Gates' interest in orthopaedic surgery began as a high school athlete when he saw the practice of orthopaedics at first hand. "That's when I decided to be a doctor, and when I decided that my specialty would be orthopaedics." He attended medical school at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Mt. Carmel Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. During his residency, a mentor interested him in foot and ankle surgery as a specialty; he then completed a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He is the only orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon in Northern Kentucky and one of only a few in Greater Cincinnati.

Dr. Gates is the team physician for Highlands High School and serves as the Foot and Ankle consultant for several other area high schools and universities, including Thomas More College and Northern Kentucky University. Sports medicine is a favorite part of his practice, where he treats everyone from school and professional athletes to weekend warriors. "I do a significant amount of work with the ever-burgeoning world of middle age and advanced age athletes. There's no doubt that you're more prone to injuries when you're 45 and running than when you are 25 and running."

He's excited by the advances in technology in the field - specifically the newer minimally invasive techniques that allow arthroscopy and Achilles tendon repair. "It's a 2-centimeter incision versus 8 centimeters. And with this technique, we can now do ankle arthroscopy from the front as well as the back." For patients, that's good news. "It leads to less post-op pain, less risk of complications and can also mean a quicker recovery," he says. Another aspect of advances in technology is the ability to do total ankle replacements. "They weren't even possible 5-8 years ago."

If he could share one piece of advice with patients, it would be to maintain a healthy weight. "Without a doubt, everything I do is made more difficult and less likely to be successful because of obesity. It increases the risk of many types of overuse syndromes."

Dr. Gates is a Cincinnati area native. He and his wife of 19 years have four children. He likes to run for exercise and ran the 2006 Chicago Marathon. He also likes to follow his children's sports activities and helps coach some of their teams. He recently completed a 6-year term on the Ft. Thomas Education Foundation board.

Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky Fort Thomas Tour of Homes
October 24, 2009
You are invited to tour seven historical homes during the “Fort Thomas Tour of Homes” presented by the Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky. The event will be held Saturday, October 24th from noon to 4:30 p.m. The Mess Hall, located in Tower Park, will serve as the Home Tour reception area featuring food from local restaurants, beverages, a silent auction, and raffles. Also included in the tour is the Fort Thomas Military and Community Museum. Shuttle vans will run continuously throughout the event between the seven homes, the Mess Hall, and the museum.

The Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky has provided funding for charitable organizations in Northern Kentucky for over 20 years. Your support of this year’s event will benefit Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center, a social service agency that provides assistance to children who have been victims of abuse or who have witnessed violent crimes and also the Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky Shoe Fund.

Event tickets will be sold for $25 each and can be purchased online at www.charitiesguildnky.com or by mail using the ticket order form that can be found at www.charitiesguildnky.com. Tickets may also be purchased at Citizen’s Bank at 34 North Fort Thomas Avenue during the month of October, through a Charities Guild member, or at the Mess Hall in Tower Park on October 24, the day of the event.

The Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky presented a check for $20,000 to the Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center. The Center was the beneficiary of a portion of the proceeds from the Charities Guild’s 2009 Ft. Thomas Tour of Homes held in October.

Courtney Shannon, past president of the Charities Guild, and Emily Morel, co-chair of the Tour of Homes, presented the check to Grant Dibert, Vickie Henderson and Robert Heil.

Ms. Henderson is executive director of the Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center. Mr. Dibert and Mr. Heil are members of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky, which provides financial and operational support to the Center.

The Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center provides a multi-disciplinary approach to the evaluation, treatment and prevention of child abuse. It serves an eight-county region of Northern Kentucky. In 2009, the Center served 550 children who had experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse or who had witnessed violence.

The Charities Guild is a volunteer, non-profit organization that uses fundraising and outreach to improve the lives of children and families in Northern Kentucky. The remaining proceeds from the Home Tour benefited the CGNK Shoe Fund. The Fund provides hundreds of shoes annually to underprivileged school children in the Northern Kentucky area.

More information is available at www.cfnky.org and www.nkycac.org.