Dr. Hiren Patel is board certified in family medicine and geriatric medicine. He completed his residency at East Carolina University earning recognition in inpatient acute care medicine and geriatric medicine. Dr. Patel furthered his education as a matriculant and fellow of geriatric medicine at the University of Hawaii. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Patel returned home to Western North Carolina to serve the Veteran population. During his tenure at the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Patel served as medical director of the community living center (a hospital-based nursing home), interim chief of geriatrics and extended care service line, attending physician for home based primary care and cross covering physician for hospice/palliative care. Dr. Patel concurrently served the private sector by volunteering his time in community nursing homes. In 2016, Dr. Patel was invited to serve as medical director of a local non-profit skilled nursing home located in Asheville, North Carolina. Focusing on his passion to serve the “wisdom-filled” population and augmenting the quality and reverence with which they are cared, Dr. Patel parted from his role serving the Veteran population exclusively to focus on community nursing home care. Since 2016, Dr. Patel has served as medical director and attending physician for numerous nursing homes. Currently, he is medical director of two skilled nursing facilities in Buncombe County and he enjoys changing the culture surrounding care of the frail, elderly population. Dr. Patel often refers to this cohort as the “wisdom-filled,” and demonstrates this respect in his interactions and philosophy of care.
Dr. Patel has extended his expertise in geriatric medicine in collaboration with legal professionals to serve as an expert witness/reviewer. He has opined on several medicolegal cases as a portion of his participation to augment the quality of care in post-acute and long-term care settings.
Dr. Patel is now available to serve the broader community of Western North Carolina as a consultant geriatrician.
Dr. Steve Solana is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a focus on geriatric rehabilitation. He graduated from the University of St. Augustine with high honors. He has since dedicated his life to improving the lives of our amazing geriatric community. He has accumulated experiences in geriatric inpatient, outpatient, home health, skilled nursing facilities, long-term facilities, hospitals, orthopedics, and aquatic rehab settings. Steve has continued to provide seminars in the Asheville community focused on topics such as pain and arthritis management, postural imbalances, strength gains in the older adult, balance, and fall prevention. He believes that everyone has the opportunity to stay active if they have the right tools and guidance. Currently, Dr. Solana is the Therapy Director at a long-term care facility, and his passion remains committed to providing care and treatment to our geriatric population. While Steve has never sought recognition, he was extremely humbled and honored to be named Paul Diaz Caring Award winner in 2019 for extraordinary and exemplary skill, compassion and empathy for the nationwide Kindred Rehabilitation Group for his work with the geriatric patients in the Asheville branch.