George Hennawi
MD
George Hennawi, MD, is the director of Geriatrics at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital (MGSH), founder and medical director of the Center for Successful Aging, medical director of FutureCare at Good Samaritan Nursing Center, and assistant clinical professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In addition, he oversees geriatric services at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (MUMH) and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.
Dr. Hennawi specializes in interdisciplinary models of care delivery for older adults with multiple morbidities, including those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He is known for providing comprehensive, patient-centered care for the vulnerable elderly. His expertise encompasses advancing person-centered care for vulnerable older adults and developing and implementing innovative models of care for older adults with complex conditions. His experience includes geriatric co-management with surgical subspecialists, use of electronic health records for risk prediction and stratification, family caregiver support, and engagement of family members in decision making.
Dr. Hennawi’s commitment to his patients underlies his drive to improve patient care. A practice under his leadership was recognized by the National Committee for Quality Control as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. This experience helped shape his understanding of the future direction of healthcare and motivated him to develop an innovative patient-centered approach that is based on risk stratification and tiered care coordination and delivered across the continuum of care by teams of subspecialists. By securing funding from multiple foundations and the State of Maryland, Dr. Hennawi was able to create the Center for Successful Aging. This Center includes a community engagement committee to empower patients to have an integral part in the direction and decision making of the Center. Initial data have showed improved quality of care and reduced costs.
To promote advances in elder care, Dr. Hennawi has presented his research on care models, prediction of care coordination needs, and warfarin use in long-term care residents to other gerontologists and physicians at meetings of national professional societies. He has been recognized for his work on behalf of older adults by the Bridges to Excellence in Diabetes Care program. Baltimore Magazine has named him a “Top Doc” in Gerontology. At MedStar, he has participated in the Leader of the Future Physician Leadership Development Program.
As a member of the MedStar community, Dr. Hennawi serves on many committees, including the Medical Executive Committee at MGSH, the Primary Care Clinical Council, and the Electronic Health Records Steering Committee. He serves as secretary of the Medical Staff at MGSH. At MUMH and MGSH, he leads the Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders program.
Dr. Hennawi is certified in Medical Directorship, Geriatrics, Palliative Medicine and Internal Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and he maintains memberships in the American Geriatrics Society and the American Medical Directors Association. He is fluent in English and Arabic.
His medical degree is from the University of Damascus (Syria). He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at MUMH and a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Research Interests
Dr. Hennawi’s research interests include the following:
- Advancing person-centered care for the vulnerable elderly
- Innovative models of care for elders with complex medical and social conditions
- Use of electronic health records data for risk prediction and stratification
- Caregiver journey
- Engagement of family members in decision making in ambulatory settings
- Geriatric co-management with surgical subspecialists
Selected Research
Efficacy of the Center for Successful Aging Model of Care
As principal investigator on this project, Dr. Hennawi is studying prediction of care coordination needs among the elderly. This work is being conducted in partnership with MITRE Corporation.
Correlates of Warfarin Use in Long-Term Care Residents with Atrial Fibrillation
Dr. Hennawi and colleagues presented the results of this research at an annual meeting of the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
Sexual Practices of Older Adults in a High HIV Prevalence Environment
Dr. Hennawi and colleagues studied sexual practices of older adults in a high HIV prevalence environment. The results of this study have been published in the Maryland Medical Journal (1999;48:287-291).
Research Areas
- Geriatrics