Dr. Heidi Prather, DO
Dr. Prather serves as an Attending Physician and Professor in the Department of Physiatry at Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical School. Here she serves as the Medical Director of Lifestyle Medicine and Co-Director of the Comprehensive Osteoarthritis Center.
Dr. Prather graduated from Drury College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors in Biology and Chemistry. She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. Following medical school, she completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr. Prather is a Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners and board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. She is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.
Dr. Prather served as Professor, Vice Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Founder and Division Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri from 1998-2020.
Dr. Prather also served as the Outpatient Medical Director of the Joint and Spine Center at Barnes -Jewish West County Hospital, and Founder of the Living Well Center. Dr. Prather co-founded the Sports Medicine Fellowship in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and served as Co-Director of the NASS recognized Spine and Intervention Fellowship. She is one of the original members of the Young Adult Hip Study Group and served as Director of the Hip-Spine Study Group at Washington University. These groups enabled the course of investigation regarding pre-arthritic hip disorders, the hip-spine connection, musculoskeletal disorders and gender relationships in adults and athletes.
At the Hospital for Special Surgery, Dr. Prather serves as the Medical Director for the Lifestyle Medicine Program, Clinical Medical Lead for the Comprehensive Osteoarthritis Center, and Medical Director for shared savings musculoskeletal collaborations. This work has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications, presentations at national and international conferences, and intra- and extra-mural funding in these topic areas. Nationally, she is a founding Senior Editor for the journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and has served as the President of the Physiatric Association of Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation and North American Spine Society.