Kiame Mahaniah, MD

A leader in adopting lean thinking and practice in healthcare, Dr. Mahaniah uses the approach to address the pain and indignities of poverty, provide excellent healthcare to often-ignored individuals and communities, and develop leaders to serve in the fight against inequity. An expert in office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) models, he has focused throughout his career on integrating primary care, teaching, and substance-use disorder treatment. He has guided the implementation and development of OBOT programs at several community health centers in Massachusetts.

Dedicated to the care of vulnerable populations, Dr. Mahaniah has spent his professional career working in federally qualified health centers. Before joining LCHC in 2017 as chief medical officer and then CEO, he was chief medical officer for North Shore Community Health, Inc. for two years, following a decade at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, where he served as residency faculty member from 2009 to 2010.

A teacher and mentor, Dr. Mahaniah also is an assistant professor of family medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and teaches in the Tufts Student Service Scholar Program.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Mahaniah grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Geneva, Switzerland, before returning to the United States at 19. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political economy, taking a special interest in the transformation of agrarian/traditional society into modern economies, at Haverford College. He received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1997 from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his residency in family medicine in 2000 at the University of Pennsylvania St. Margaret Memorial Hospital. His latest educational endeavor resulted in an MBA, in June 2021, from University of Massachusetts – Amherst.

Dr. Mahaniah enjoys reading, particularly philosophy and science fiction, playing soccer and DnD, and spending time with his family.