Cleveland Clinic picks chief for Abu Dhabi hospital

A career pathologist, executive and educator at the Cleveland Clinic will lead that institution’s expansion into the Middle East.

Dr. Andrew Fishleder, who most recently was chairman of the Education Institute at the Clinic and executive dean of  Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, has been named chief executive of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Fishleder, 56, officially took over operational responsibility for the hospital being built by Mubadala Development Co.in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 1, the Clinic said in a written statement.

Until the hospital is built and operating, likely in 2011, Fishleder will put in place the systems, procedures, guidelines and standards to extend the Clinic’s model of medicine and clinical capabilities to the Middle East.

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead Cleveland Clinic’s expansion in the Middle East and to partner with the dedicated leadership of Mubadala,” Fishleder said in a written statement. “I am confident that my years of experience as a physician executive at Cleveland Clinic and collaborative leadership style will allow me to contribute to the success of this exciting project.”

During a Saturday interview from Abu Dhabi, Fishleder said he’s still waiting to see the hospital emerge from the ground. “Although there has been a groundbreaking that’s been formal, we are hoping there will be pilings in the ground in the near future,” he said.

Fishleder said the Abu Dhabi hospital will have a heart and vascular institute to treat cardiovascular diseases. It also will  have departments that treat digestive, neurological and respiratory diseases. When it opens, it likely will employ 1,200 people.

For now, Fishleder is traveling back and forth between Cleveland and Abu Dhabi to set up the policies and procedures that will create a mini Cleveland Clinic in the United Arab Emirates country.

Mubadala Development, wholly owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is building the hospital, which the Clinic will staff and manage. The Clinic struck its 15-year agreement with Mubadala for the world-class hospital in 2006.

The Clinic also manages Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, a network of health care facilities, in Abu Dhabi. Vascular surgeon Dr. Scott Strong is chief executive of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.

The Clinic will use the occasion of the Arab Health Congress 2009 in Dubai, which starts Monday, to announce the appointments of Fishleder and of Dr. Robert Lorenz as chief medical officer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Most recently, Lorenz was section head of head and neck surgery in the Head and Neck Institute at the Clinic. Lorenz and his family moved to Abu Dhabi in early September.

Lorenz will make a presentation on electronic medical records at the Arab Health Congress on Wednesday. Dr. Toby Cosgrove, the Clinic’s president and chief executive, will present at the congress twice. As the keynote speaker on Monday morning, he will talk about “Healthcare in the 21st Century,” and later in the day, he will speak on “Organizing the Future of Healthcare.”

“Over the last 30 years, Dr. Fishleder has been an integral part of the success and expansion of Cleveland Clinic,” Cosgrove said in the statement. “We are very confident that Dr. Fishleder’s proven leadership and vision will continue the Cleveland Clinic and Mubadala Development’s mission to deliver the highest quality health care to the Middle East region.”

Fishleder received his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1978. He did his residency on anatomic and clinical pathology at the Clinic. Then, he joined the Clinic as a hematopathologist in the Division of Laboratory Medicine.

Fishleder’s scientific interests include leukemia, molecular biology and bone marrow transplantation. He has been involved in medical education throughout his career and helped develop the Clinic’s Education Institute. Fishleder also is a member of the Clinic’s board of governors.