Dr. Carol J. Ratcliffe, RN, COI, FACHE is the Chair and Professor of Healthcare Administration in the School of Public Health with a second appointment in the Ida Moffett School of Nursing at Samford University, Birmingham, AL. She is owner and President of Synergy with Purpose, LLC™; offering motivational speaking and leadership development. She is also a Magnet Appraiser. Her sustained contributions in healthcare are in leadership, advancing practice, and health policy. In addition, she served as a Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer for 16 years with CHRISTUS Health and Ascension Health. She has been Board Certified in Healthcare Management for 21 years and held the distinction of Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) for 15 years. Dr. Ratcliffe is also a certified online instructor.
In 2015, Ratcliffe was appointed by the Governor to the Alabama Healthcare Improvement Task Force, which worked to identify ways to improve the health of Alabamians and bring more accessible and affordable health care to residents in the state. Her personal and professional conviction is to influence health policy and practice by bringing a nursing perspective into decisions and highlighting the value of transformative change. Her leadership in politically charged opportunities that others were reluctant to address has resulted in health policy changes that have advanced national healthcare goals. Through national and international dissemination, these policies have resulted in patient-centered practice changes and unique models of care delivery. Two noteworthy contributions include expanding nursing practice through legislation changes in multiple states and co-founding and co-leading the Alabama Health Action Coalition (AL-HAC) which is a part of the national Campaign for Action co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the AARP Foundation. Learn more at www.AL-HAC.org