Greenwich Hospital announces Karen A. Santucci, MD as chief medical officer

Greenwich, CT (June 11, 2020) – Karen A. Santucci, MD has been named senior vice president and chief medical officer for Greenwich Hospital, effective September 1. She will also continue as a professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine

“We are so proud and excited that Dr. Santucci will be joining our team as the Chief Medical Officer,” said Norman G. Roth, president and CEO. “Karen brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position. She will be working closely with the leadership team on the Clinical Growth Plan and the expansion of medical subspecialties, led by COO Diane Kelly, DNP, RN.”

Dr. Santucci will report to Mr. Roth and Thomas Balcezak, MD, EVP and chief clinical officer of Yale New Haven Health. Dr. Santucci will be providing strategic direction for all Greenwich Hospital clinical and medical staff programs and services. Spike Lipschutz, MD, will assume the role of VP of Medical Affairs, responsible for Quality and Safety as well as medical administrative matters, and will report to Dr. Santucci.

“I am excited to serve in this new role and continue to nurture the culture of caring at Greenwich Hospital while expanding our scope of services,” said Dr. Santucci.

Dr. Santucci has been a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician at Yale New Haven Hospital for the past 21 years. She has served as the section chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Yale since 2006 and the pediatric vice chair of Clinical Affairs at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) since 2017. In this role, she treated patients in the YNHCH emergency department, a Level One Pediatric Trauma Center, specializing in caring for children with a wide range of illnesses and injuries, from urgent to emergent situations that call for dramatic lifesaving interventions.

Since 2017, she has served in a dual role working at both YNHCH in New Haven and the emergency department at Greenwich Hospital. In collaboration with the medical director of the Greenwich Emergency Department, YNHCH and the Department of Pediatrics at Yale, Dr. Santucci brought 24/7 pediatric emergency medicine specialists to the hospital. She played an active role in developing this program as well as the Pediatric Hospitalist program, which provides pediatric provider coverage to the pediatric inpatient floor.

Dr. Santucci is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She completed her Pediatric Residency and Chief Residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY and her Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Brown University School of Medicine in Providence, RI. She has authored numerous research papers, book chapters and review articles and has received many teaching awards from both Brown and Yale and continues to receive invitations annually to speak nationally.

Dr. Santucci is regularly out in the community interacting with and teaching school nurses and students about the effects of drugs and alcohol on the developing brain. She also meets regularly with community Pediatric, Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine providers discussing Pediatric specific issues. She resides in Norwalk with her husband Dominic Roca, PHD, MD and their two children Vito and Bobbi.

Greenwich Hospital is a member of Yale New Haven Health. Greenwich is a 206-bed (includes 32 isolettes) community hospital serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. It is a academic affiliate of Yale School of Medicine. Since opening in 1903, Greenwich Hospital has evolved into a progressive medical center and teaching institution representing all medical specialties and offering a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic and wellness programs. Greenwich Hospital is recognized throughout the healthcare industry as a leader in service and patient satisfaction excellence. Greenwich Hospital has the prestigious Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. www.greenwichhospital.org