UH Ahuja Emergency Medicine Director Leads Ramped Up ED with Calm Professionalism
August 21, 2025
UH Clinical Update | August 2025
Imran Tahir, MDEmergency Medicine specialist Imran Tahir, MD, has been an integral member of the ED at UH Ahuja Medical Center since the hospital opened in 2011, alternating shifts in the early years with his shifts at UH Cleveland Medical Center. He joined UH Ahuja full-time in 2014, but it’s been the past three years as the Associate and then the Medical Director of the ED there where he’s truly had the chance to shine.
To put things in context: Since 2022, the UH Ahuja ED expanded from a 22-bed ED to a 43-bed state-of-the-art ED, including a dedicated five-bed fast track and internal waiting area. ED volume grew from 45,000 in 2022 to almost 50,000 in 2023 and 53,000 in 2024. The current patient load is about upwards of 10 patients every hour, during peak hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“It’s the second busiest ED in the entire system, close behind CMC,” Dr. Tahir says. “We have seen an exponential rise in our volume on an annual basis. We’re seeing 5% growth every year.”
Fortunately, Dr. Tahir and the ED team at UH Ahuja have implemented the necessary changes to accommodate the increased volume of patients – and in rapid fashion.
“The biggest initiative we did in the last couple of years is the provider and triage model, where we do absorb that influx of patients to make sure everybody's seen,” he says. “We’ve also fine-tuned our front-end process. We have a system where we're able to provide timely excellent, safe and quality care, where patients are seen, evaluated, worked up and dispositioned from the front end. This has been an integral part of our strategy to keep up with our surges. As a result, our ‘left without being seen’ rate is consistently less than 2%.”
Dr. Tahir’s colleagues at UH Ahuja have taken note of his skill and expertise in managing this sizeable change.
“Keeping up with steady growth is challenging in any service line, especially in the unscheduled ED environment, and Dr. Tahir has met and exceeded the challenge,” says Jessica Goldstein, MD, Chief Medical Officer at UH Ahuja. “Dr. Tahir has led the UH Ahuja Emergency Department tirelessly over the past three years with dedication, courage and calm.”
To recognize these efforts, UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, recently named Dr. Tahir a “Dinner with the Doc” honoree.
Dr. Tahir’s leadership role at UH Ahuja is the only the latest part of his career at UH. He joined UH Cleveland Medical Center as an emergency medicine physician more than 25 years ago, in July 2000.
What’s kept him here all this time?
“It's the core values at UH, the culture, the patient-centered, more personable care, the camaraderie, the colleagues I’ve worked with,” Dr. Tahir says. “It’s been a good ride for me from a career standpoint. It’s a good combination of cutting-edge tertiary care, while at the same time very personable, one-on-one care with patients.”
In fact, it’s these interactions with people – whether with his ED colleagues or with ED patients – that are so important in achieving the outcomes everyone wants.
Leading by example is key, Dr. Tahir says.
“You can ask your team to step up their game, but only if you're going to do it yourself,” he says. “Whatever we do is towards improving patient safety and patient care. If the communication is clear and you lead from the front with these goals, which are very clearly communicated and enunciated, then the team falls behind you and they do whatever it takes.”
A similar respectful approach is also vital with patients, he says.
“It’s important to both talk to the patient and listen to them, uninterrupted, make them feel that they are heard!” Dr. Tahir says. “Sit down and make a connection, a personal connection. And as you leave the room, make some sort of gesture – ask about a blanket or to dim the lights or get them water. Our goal is to make sure every patient, irrespective of their complaint and triage status, feels that they are the most important patient in the department.”
Caring acts like these – plus a legitimate team-based approach to care – go a long way to lessening the stress and disruption of a patient’s ED visit, Dr. Tahir says.
“That team approach is important,” he says. “Communicate with your team the plan and goals of care for the patient! Go in as a team upon arrival or try to go in as a team upon discharge. We want to make sure the patients see us as a team and there is no perception of chaos -- no matter how busy we are.”
Congratulations to Dr. Tahir on his “Dinner with the Doc” honor.