HEALTH CARE
A HEARTFELT CAREER
Tradition hospital’s president journeyed from India
to advance his career in critical pulmonary care
Sasidhar’s fascination with critical care led him to pursue
pulmonology, specializing in respiratory care. During his
residency in New Haven, Connecticut, Sasidhar worked with
many veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs,
diagnosing and treating lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and other conditions.
Later, while on the staff of Cleveland Clinic’s main campus
in Ohio, it was not uncommon to care for VIPs — heads of
state, royalty, celebrities and corporate heads.
As stated in an article co-authored by Sasidhar, “Caring for
VIP patients requires innovative solutions so that their VIP
status does not adversely affect the care they receive.”
That approach is important to all Cleveland Clinic patients.
When Sasidhar was appointed president of the Tradition hospital
in September, his immediate priority could have been
likened to a big bucket.
The first on the list?
“We are always laser-focused on the quality of care,”
Sasidhar says. “And then we want patients to have the best
experiences they can. But especially in St. Lucie County, with
Growing up in southern India, Madhu Sasidhar never
dreamed of being a doctor.
“I enjoyed tinkering with stuff,” the president of
Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital says. “Tearing things
apart and rebuilding them.”
Planning a career in computer science, he enrolled in
engineering school but eventually reconsidered. The next
year, he began medical school, discovering more than one
reason to be grateful he did: He and his future bride shared
the same classes.
“Her handwriting was so perfect I used her notes frequently,”
he says. “That’s how it happened. But she might
see it differently.”
They were married in a centuries-old Hindu temple in the
tropical city of Trivandrum — quite a change from the tiny
studio apartment they soon found in Manhattan. The compelling
reason for leaving India was Sasidhar’s interest in critical
care and his attraction to the devices used.
“At that time, the specialty hadn’t evolved in India,” he
explains. “There were not many opportunities.”
28 Port St. Lucie Magazine
ANTHONY INSWASTY
BY ELLEN GILLETTE
Dr. Madhu Sasidhar,
who is a practicing
pulmonologist with an
extensive background with
COVID-19, was named
president of Cleveland
Clinic Tradition Hospital
in September.
>>