Cleveland Clinic Names New Director of its Center for Geriatric Medicine

Ardeshir Z. Hashmi, M.D., has been named director of the Center for Geriatric Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. In this role he will lead the health system’s geriatric medicine program – ranked 5th nationally by U.S. News and World Report – that specializes in diagnosing and treating older adults with complex medical conditions and social impairments, and educating future healthcare providers at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Hashmi comes to Cleveland Clinic from Massachusetts General Hospital where he was medical director of the MGH Senior Health-Geriatric Medicine Unit and a staff physician. He completed a clinical and research fellowship in geriatric medicine there, and his internal medicine residency and chief residency at the Yale University-affiliated Saint Mary’s Hospital. Dr. Hashmi completed medical school at Aga Khan Medical College in Karachi Pakistan followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship at Yale University.

“Dr. Hashmi has a track record of building bridges among specialties in the co-management of the health needs of older adults,” said Gregory Rosencrance, M.D., chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Medicine Institute. “We believe his expertise is well aligned with our geriatric medicine program’s goals, and are excited to have him at the helm.”

In his new role, Dr. Hashmi plans to focus on optimizing access to geriatric consultations and assessments; developing integrated practice units (IPUs) and cross-collaboration with specialists, centered on the patient; celebrating successful aging and ways to sustain it through healthy lifestyle and proactive disease prevention; and using technology to better measure frailty and cognitive impairment in older adults. Dr. Hashmi believes it is integral for patients and families to be a part of conversations to help define quality care measures and clinical priorities for a geriatric medicine program.

“I look forward to leading Cleveland Clinic’s nationally ranked geriatric medicine program,” said Dr. Hashmi. “It’s an exciting time for geriatric medicine; the specialty has the potential to be a key cornerstone of Cleveland Clinic population health efforts to improve quality and decrease costs of healthcare. Geriatric medicine’s multidisciplinary approach to care across the continuum can help prevent hospitalizations, support frail and cognitively impaired patients and their caregivers, manage complex medication regimens, and catalyze successful healthy aging in the community setting.”