Springfield medical office subject of investigation

Federal and state agents raided a Springfield cardiac clinic Wednesday, removing dozens of boxes of files.

The Ohio Institute of Cardiac Care, which state records indicate is operated by Dr. Salim Dahdah, is the subject of an investigation involving the Ohio Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud section, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.

The inspector general’s office is tasked with weeding out Medicare fraud.

The FBI and Attorney General’s office confirmed that they are assisting with an investigation but referred further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A spokeswoman for the Southern District of Ohio was unavailable for comment.

Federal and state agents were at the West First Street cardiac clinic for several hours Wednesday, eventually hauling out several cartloads of boxes. The office is one of two OICC locations in Springfield.

Both offices were closed today and a representative at the company’s answering service said they were unable to reach anyone. The answering service was able to page on-call doctors in the case any urgent medical needs by patients.

At least one patient showed up at the West First Street office for an appointment only to be turned away by a sign on the locked door.

Dahdah lives in Beavercreek, attended medical school in Guatemala and did residency rotations at the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati and the Washington Hospital Center in D.C., according to his profile on the Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital website.

He’s held cardiology fellowships at the University of Cincinnati and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

About the Author