The Georgiadi Family

Milena Georgiadi is the caregiver who gets patients moving. In other words: a physical therapist. It’s her job to restore their mobility, improve their balance and help with their discharge planning.

“We’re going to work on getting you out of bed and do some exercises together,” she’ll tell them. “The goal is to help you regain your confidence, promote your independence and get you back to the level of mobility you had before.”

She has been doing all of the above at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital for 25 years and counting. In that time, Cleveland Clinic put her through a master’s degree in health science and a doctorate in physical therapy.

Milena came to Cleveland from Ukraine as a young adult. She’s fluent in Russian, which comes in handy. “I see a lot of Russian-speaking patients,” she says, “and my language skills allow me to provide culturally appropriate care.”

Her husband, Steve, is from Ukraine, too. Both of them actually grew up in the same city, Odessa, although they first met thousands of miles away in Cleveland at a Tupperware party. (It’s a long story.)

Steve had been an auto mechanic until back surgery ended that career. Today he’s a senior research analyst at Cleveland Clinic.

Their children are no strangers to the organization, either. Emily, a first-year medical school student, was a Cleveland Clinic medical assistant during her gap year, rotating through orthopaedics, pediatrics and rheumatology. Matthew, a high school senior interested in AI and business, spent this summer in a Cleveland Clinic internship, gathering data on utilization of exam rooms and operating rooms.

Their mother couldn’t be more grateful — for all of it.

“Cleveland Clinic gave us opportunities to excel,” Milena says. “We’re very thankful to be here.”