Meet Carol Santalucia

carol santalucia cleavland clinic


In her most recent role, Carol Santalucia was Cleveland Clinic’s Director of Service Excellence in the Office of Patient Experience (through June 2011). She was responsible for the design and development of service initiatives, working with leaders throughout the Cleveland Clinic Health System, leading multidisciplinary teams to improve various aspects of patient satisfaction.

Carol speaks regularly across the country on topics related to the patient experience. Her most recent speaking engagements include:

  • RL Solutions Conference, “Using Patient Feedback to Build Better Service Initiatives”, June 2011
  • International Medical Tourism Conference, MediTour Expo 2011: Pioneering the Future in Global Healthcare, “International Healthcare and the Patient Experience”, May 2011
  • Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Empathy and Innovation Summit, “Advancing the Patient Experience through Philanthropic Support for Service Programs”, May 2011
  • Cleveland Clinic Orthopedic and Rheumatology Institute, “Recognizing Your Talents and Gifts”, May 2011
  • Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, “Patient Navigation and Service Excellence”, April 2011
  • California Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, “Patient Navigation and Service Excellence”, February 2011
  • Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, “National Webinar on Patient Advocacy”, January 2011
  • Carolina Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, “Patient Navigation: A Commitment to Enhancing the Patient Experience”, and “Extending the Boundaries of Advocacy into the Community”, September 2010
  • Ashtabula County Medical Center, Service Excellence Presentation at the Retreat for Patient Experience Leadership
  • Fairview Hospital, Service Excellence Presentation to Patient Experience Leadership, April 2010
  • Representatives from UMC St Raboud Hospital in the Netherlands, Patient Experience Presentation, January 2010
Education:

Carol Santalucia received an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Cleveland State University and a BS in Psychology from Denison University.

Professional Memberships:

Carol is a past president and current member of the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy of the American Hospital Association and a past president and current member of the Ohio Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy of the Ohio Hospital Association. She is also a member of Healthcare Executives Association of Northeast Ohio (HEANO) and serves on the advisory board of Cleveland State University’s Patient Advocacy Certificate Program. She also has served as part time faculty at Myers University in the health management program.

Carol is the founder and president of the Carmella Rose Women’s Health Foundation (www.carmellarose.org), a non-profit organization designed to help women in Northeast Ohio navigate the complex healthcare system.

Awards:

2011 Nurses Choice Award, Ohio Nurses Foundation: This individual award is the only award presented to a non-nurse, and it is a tribute to Santalucia's leadership and ability to promote a positive, seamless patient-centered experience.

2011 Cleveland Clinic Volunteer of the Year Award: In recognition of Carol’s outstanding achievements in volunteer service to the Cleveland community through her service with the Carmella Rose Women’s Health Foundation.

2009 Exceptional Healing Partners Award, Cleveland Clinic: Based on nominations from her peers, Carol was among 12 recipients of this award in recognition of her role as a caregiver who is committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care; embraces each patient as a whole person (mind/body/spirit); consistently anticipates and exceeds patient and family expectations; and embodies the Cleveland Clinic values of quality, innovation, teamwork, service, integrity and compassion.

2008 Women Leaders Award, Cleveland Clinic: Eight colleagues nominated Carol Santalucia to be recognized as a female leader at Cleveland Clinic. Among her accomplishments: Acting as an advocate for patients, inspiring and supporting colleagues, creating the "Respond with H.E.A.R.T.®" program and founding the Carmella Rose Women's Health Foundation in her mother’s memory.

2005 Ruth Ravich Award, Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy: This award recognizes an individual whose work supports the vision of the Society - to bring the patients' needs to the center of healthcare.
Testimonials:

“I loved it. Carol was very passionate. We couldn’t have had a better speaker.”

“Excellent facilitator and great subject matter. I can’t wait until we all are speaking the language of caring!”

“This was a phenomenal life changing experience. It brought out some things in me that I never even knew that I possessed.”

“Great experience; feel very comfortable and prepared to facilitate training sessions; Carol is a fabulous presenter – very engaging.”

Attendee comments from Carol's presentation at Johns Hopkins' Language of Caring Facilitator Training October 2011


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