Karen Santucci, MD

Karen Santucci, MD, medical director and section chief of Yale Medicine Pediatric Emergency Medicine, treats patients in the emergency department of Yale New Haven Hospital Children’s Hospital, a Level One Pediatric Trauma Center. A veteran physician, she specializes in caring for children with a wide range of illnesses and injuries, from asthma to emergency situations that call for dramatic lifesaving interventions. “A lot of what we do is recognize diseases, disorders and injuries and rapidly get patients the assistance they need,” she says.

Dr. Santucci is a professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Her research interests include clinical forensic medicine, and ensuring safe and high-quality care. She trains young doctors, and is known among her peers for her ability to connect with patients and everyone else with whom she interacts. “I enjoy working with children, medical students and the community,” she says. In 2014, Yale Medicine recognized Dr. Santucci with the David J. Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence.