HEALTH CARE
its growing population, there is a high demand for services.
This is the ‘bucket of access’ — making sure patients see the
right provider at the right time at the right place.”
Before coming to Tradition, Sasidhar was chief medical
officer at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab
Emirates. He also chaired its COVID-19 Task Force.
“It was the first Cleveland Clinic hospital to care for
patients with COVID,” he says.
The first diagnosis was in February 2020.
“We quickly saw large numbers,” Sasidhar says. “There
was no playbook. No scientific literature.”
Having worked with H1N1 swine flu patients was
helpful; the hospital also gleaned data from northern Italy
at that time.
Abu Dhabi presented several peculiarities. As an island, it
relies heavily on imports. Pandemic-generated supply chain
interruptions created immediate problems. Another issue
dealt with the human side. About 80% of Abu Dhabi’s population
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Port St. Lucie Magazine 29
are expatriates.
“Frequently, I had to call a family member in another
country to tell them a brother had died in our ICU,” Sasidhar
says. “There were language barriers, distance. There was no
way to console them. It was one of the hardest things.”
Now in Tradition, Sasidhar’s plans for the hospital have
been challenged by the immediacy of the milder — but more
transmissible — omicron variant of COVID-19.
“We’re still seeing a fair amount of cases. Those with
severe illness are unvaccinated, but it has affected us as
caregivers, too.”
Although Sasidhar’s predecessor, Robert Lord, is an attorney,
Cleveland Clinic’s model has been a physician-led
organization throughout its 100-plus-years of history.
“Physicians have the ability to know the issues and processes
at an intimate level,” Sasidhar says. “The vast majority
of Cleveland Clinic leaders are also practicing caregivers.”
Business savvy is also required of a CEO. Sasidhar received
an executive MBA from INSEAD Institut Européen
d’Administration des Affaires, “the business school for the
world.” He also speaks three languages — English, Hindi
and Malayalam.
Sasidhar adds that while it is too early to tell if the pandemic
will adversely affect the number of people entering
the medical field, the last two years “have certainly highlighted
the need. Nurses are a priority, but also respiratory
therapists and imaging technicians.”
Something else that is clear — and unanticipated — is the
significant number of health care providers leaving the field.
Whether they’re taking a break or retiring early, Sasidhar
says it’s been hard on the industry.
“It’s a big loss because they are the ones with the most
experience.”
From engineering school dropout to hospital CEO, Sasidhar’s
journey from India to Florida — by way of New York,
Connecticut, New Mexico, Ohio, France and Abu Dhabi —
has not been typical. But he is still a doctor at heart. When
things “settle down a bit,” he plans to resume his practice,
treating patients in addition to heading operations.
Sasidhar holds patents for a computer-implemented clinical
information storage system.
“It’s a great privilege to circle back to that passion.”
To circle back, perhaps, to the boy who loved to look inside
things, to figure out how they were made and how they
worked — a curiosity that continues to serve him well. E
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MADHU SASIDHAR
Age: 53
Lives in: Port St. Lucie
Occupation: President of Cleveland Clinic Tradition
Hospital
Family: Wife, Amrita Chadha, M.D., an anesthesiologist;
daughter, Divya 21, a senior at New York University; son,
Divij; dog, Gatsby.
Education: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical
Education and Research, Pondicherry, India; Columbia
University, New York City; Yale University School of
Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Executive Master
of Business Administration through Institut Européen
d’Administration des Affaires.
Hobbies: “I’m an avid gardener – it will be interesting to
go from four seasons to two – and I read extensively on a
wide range of topics.”
Who inspires me: “I spent four years in a Jesuit boarding
school and was inspired by those whose lives were
inspired by mission. Since then, I’ve seen that type of
leadership in health care and outside – mission-driven
people who put in every effort.”
Something most people don’t know about me: “I’m
a self-taught computer programmer with expertise in
big data platforms. I developed a technology that was
patented through Cleveland Clinic Innovations and subsequently
commercialized.”
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