Tuesday, 29 June 2021 15:28

Cleveland Clinic introduces two new physicians to oversee international operations

Written by Alondra Gutiérrez

The roles are: new president of International Operations and new CEO for Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi.

Cleveland Clinic announced the promotion of two physician leaders to oversee international operations and Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi. Rakesh M. Suri, MD, will return to Ohio from Abu Dhabi to work in the new role of President of International Operations. Jorge A. Guzman, M.D., was named CEO of Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, a position previously held by Dr. Suri. Both positions were effective march 31, 2021.

In his new role, Dr. Suri will lead Cleveland Clinic's overall international strategy and emerging business opportunities. In addition, he will be responsible for Global Patient Services and will oversee Cleveland Clinic's operations in Canada.

The role of President of International Operations will help the organization operate as one Cleveland Clinic in the United States and abroad. He will also focus caregivers on providing world-class care to patients regardless of their location.

Dr. Suri has served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi since 2017. He has overseen the strategy and effective operation of the hospital as the first U.S. multi-specialty hospital to replicate outside of North America with more than 5,000 caregivers.

He was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic staff in 2015 and named Chief of Staff at Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi that same year.

He helped lead the recruitment of more than 400 world-class physicians, participated in the opening and initiation of clinical services throughout the hospital, and led the medical staff to deliver a complex and innovative set of services with safety and quality outcomes that are competitive among leading academic medical centers globally.

Dr. Suri earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Toronto and a PhD from Magdalen College, Oxford, UK, as a Rhodes Scholar. He trained in general surgery and completed a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at the University of Toronto. He completed a residency in thoracic surgery at Mayo College of Medicine.

Dr. Guzman has served as Chief of Staff at Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi since 2017. During that time, he has overseen physician recruitment and clinical operations for the 400-bed hospital.

Dr. Guzman is a floor physician in the hospital's acute care institute treating patients in Abu Dhabi and is a floor physician in the acute care department at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Dr. Guzman served as vice president of Medical Operations at Cleveland Regional Hospital. He was director of the medical intensive care unit at the main campus and director of intensive care unit operations for the Cleveland Clinic health system. He was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic staff in 2007.

Dr. Guzman received his medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina. He is a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care and a graduate of the Healthcare MBA program at Baldwin Wallace University. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific articles in peer-reviewed medical journals, many book chapters, and is the awardee of two U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patents.

The executive directors of Cleveland Clinic in London and Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi will continue to report to Cleveland Clinic's CEO and president, Dr. Tom Mihaljevic.