The Lenexa orthopedic surgeon is the first surgeon to receive the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation's national community-leadership honor, recognized for advancing fracture prevention and earlier bone-density screening.
LENEXA, Kan., May 28, 2026. The Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) has named Shannon R. Carpenter, MD, founder and CEO of The Bone Health Clinic, the 2026 recipient of its Robert F. Gagel, M.D. Community Leadership Award. The award was presented May 28 at the Interdisciplinary Symposium on Osteoporosis (ISO2026) at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., by BHOF Chief Executive Officer Claire Gill.
Dr. Carpenter is the first orthopedic surgeon to receive the award. Established in 2024, the Gagel Award recognizes a healthcare professional who has made outstanding contributions to improving osteoporosis care and increasing community awareness of bone health.
"We are honored to recognize Dr. Carpenter with the Robert F. Gagel, M.D. Community Leadership Award. Through her leadership, innovation, and unwavering commitment to prevention-focused osteoporosis care, Dr. Carpenter is advancing patient outcomes, elevating awareness of early detection, and helping shape a stronger future for bone health."Claire Gill, Chief Executive Officer, Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation
Dr. Carpenter founded The Bone Health Clinic in Lenexa in 2021 as the first standalone, prevention-focused bone health practice in the Kansas City region. Its approach rests on a simple conviction: bone health is a lifelong concern, not a late-life one.
"We own a patient's bonespan from 35 to 95. Waiting until 65 to scan is too late. Most fragility fractures are preventable, but only if patients are screened, diagnosed, and treated before the first break."Shannon R. Carpenter, MD
That conviction led Dr. Carpenter to found Demand the Scan, an independent, physician-founded movement working to prevent fragility fractures by making early bone-density screening the standard for women at 40, before the first break rather than after it.
In addition to leading The Bone Health Clinic, Dr. Carpenter is a shoulder and elbow orthopedic surgeon at the Kansas City Veterans Administration and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Chair of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Fellowship Committee, a Neer Circle Fellow, and an American Orthopaedic Association Emerging Leader.
The Bone Health Clinic is a Lenexa, Kansas medical practice dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, serving patients across the Kansas City metro. The clinic's motto is Prevent Fractures. Age Successfully. That commitment means identifying patients at risk before a fracture occurs. Learn more at thebonehealthclinic.com.
Established in 1984, the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation is the nation's leading patient advocacy organization focused on bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis and fractures. Learn more at bonehealthandosteoporosis.org.
The Bone Health Clinic
(913) 914-BONE (2663)
info@thebonehealthclinic.com
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