Lisa Cefalo
March 2026
Lisa
Cefalo
,
MSN, RN, CNE
Administration
AdventHealth Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte
,
FL
United States
Her compassion, intellect, and extraordinary work ethic set her apart as a truly exceptional human being.
She has prayed with staff through hurricanes—long before we were AdventHealth—and continues to be a steady, grounding presence for our teams. Colleagues and leaders alike seek her out as a trusted resource.
This Master’s-prepared RN is an unwavering advocate for patients, staff, and providers. She is, without question, one of the smartest and most capable people I know. After Hurricane Ian, despite facing her own personal devastation, she and her husband joined our teams in recovery efforts with tireless dedication. She served the hospital and supported our staff even after sleepless nights and in difficult, uncomfortable circumstances. Her compassion, intellect, and extraordinary work ethic set her apart as a truly exceptional human being.
She has risen through the ranks,(she worked as an LPN) beginning at the bedside in CVSD, teaching at a local college, advancing to Director of Education, and now serving with tremendous commitment as our Assistant CNO. She is profoundly passionate about staff education, patient care, and the community we serve.
Lisa embodies AdventHealth’s principles of whole-person care—caring for the body, mind, and spirit of every patient and team member she touches. Her decisions, her conversations, and her leadership consistently reflect our mission and our service standards of Keep Me Safe, Love Me, Make It Easy, and Own It. She invests deeply in developing others, improving quality, and ensuring that both our teams and our patients receive the highest level of support and care.
She consistently demonstrates dependable leadership—not by standing in the spotlight, but by standing beside her team. Whether we are faced with last-minute changes, unexpected challenges, or critical decisions under pressure, she remains the calm anchor we rely on. Her ability to step in, take charge when needed, and lead with grace and clarity—even under the tightest guidelines—is nothing short of inspiring.
Lisa goes above and beyond the requirements of her job description every single day. She is a thoughtful, strategic critical thinker who is unafraid to challenge the status quo when it leads to better outcomes for our patients and our people. I am profoundly grateful for her and all she has done to support our team over the last few years.
She brings a smile and positive attitude every morning, and even at the end of the most demanding days, she is still beaming. Her dedication to nursing is unwavering, and she consistently steps in during stressful situations—coming in on weekends and filling staffing gaps without hesitation. She has a unique ability to bring levity to heavy situations, helping patients and staff laugh even in difficult moments.
Lisa is an extremely busy leader, yet you would never know it by her demeanor. She arrives bright and early each day with a genuine smile and a welcoming attitude toward everyone she encounters. She motivates staff by encouraging them, recognizing and praising excellent work, remaining approachable no matter how busy she is, and maintaining a steady sense of humor. Her behavior day after day reflects true Servant Leadership, grounded in compassion, humility, and a deep commitment to the well-being of others.
As a Nursing Leader, she has:
• brought outstanding nurses back into our organization.
• preserved and uplifted our history so we can learn from it—both our successes and our missteps.
• mentored staff and leaders, consistently producing strong outcomes.
• cried with team members during their most painful life moments.
• led service-recovery efforts and prevented recurring issues by helping our teams and our organization learn, grow, and improve.
• served as a key leader in our recent Epic electronic medical record conversion, setting direction, monitoring progress, and steadily pushing us forward to achieve a successful transition.
• modeled daily what it means to live our Service Standards, ensuring care that is not only excellent but compassionate, safe, efficient, and grounded in respect.
One of her greatest strengths is her ability to build meaningful relationships. She listens deeply, processes thoughtfully, and develops innovative, practical solutions. And she communicates—clearly, consistently, and passionately. (That “Communication word” is truly one of her hot buttons!) She remains sensitive to the hard work and contributions of other leaders and treats every individual with respect.
She embodies what it means to be a lifelong learner. She is also known for being in the right place at the right time—like the day she happened upon a vented patient trying to climb off the end of a stretcher and intervened immediately.
On a personal level, she once navigated life as a single mother, returned to school, and modeled perseverance and resilience for her sons. Healthcare was not her first career, but we are profoundly fortunate that she ultimately chose nursing—and that she chooses, every single day, to walk through our doors with an upbeat yet realistic attitude, ready to make a difference.
Her leadership has shaped who we are. Her heart inspires who we hope to be.
This Master’s-prepared RN is an unwavering advocate for patients, staff, and providers. She is, without question, one of the smartest and most capable people I know. After Hurricane Ian, despite facing her own personal devastation, she and her husband joined our teams in recovery efforts with tireless dedication. She served the hospital and supported our staff even after sleepless nights and in difficult, uncomfortable circumstances. Her compassion, intellect, and extraordinary work ethic set her apart as a truly exceptional human being.
She has risen through the ranks,(she worked as an LPN) beginning at the bedside in CVSD, teaching at a local college, advancing to Director of Education, and now serving with tremendous commitment as our Assistant CNO. She is profoundly passionate about staff education, patient care, and the community we serve.
Lisa embodies AdventHealth’s principles of whole-person care—caring for the body, mind, and spirit of every patient and team member she touches. Her decisions, her conversations, and her leadership consistently reflect our mission and our service standards of Keep Me Safe, Love Me, Make It Easy, and Own It. She invests deeply in developing others, improving quality, and ensuring that both our teams and our patients receive the highest level of support and care.
She consistently demonstrates dependable leadership—not by standing in the spotlight, but by standing beside her team. Whether we are faced with last-minute changes, unexpected challenges, or critical decisions under pressure, she remains the calm anchor we rely on. Her ability to step in, take charge when needed, and lead with grace and clarity—even under the tightest guidelines—is nothing short of inspiring.
Lisa goes above and beyond the requirements of her job description every single day. She is a thoughtful, strategic critical thinker who is unafraid to challenge the status quo when it leads to better outcomes for our patients and our people. I am profoundly grateful for her and all she has done to support our team over the last few years.
She brings a smile and positive attitude every morning, and even at the end of the most demanding days, she is still beaming. Her dedication to nursing is unwavering, and she consistently steps in during stressful situations—coming in on weekends and filling staffing gaps without hesitation. She has a unique ability to bring levity to heavy situations, helping patients and staff laugh even in difficult moments.
Lisa is an extremely busy leader, yet you would never know it by her demeanor. She arrives bright and early each day with a genuine smile and a welcoming attitude toward everyone she encounters. She motivates staff by encouraging them, recognizing and praising excellent work, remaining approachable no matter how busy she is, and maintaining a steady sense of humor. Her behavior day after day reflects true Servant Leadership, grounded in compassion, humility, and a deep commitment to the well-being of others.
As a Nursing Leader, she has:
• brought outstanding nurses back into our organization.
• preserved and uplifted our history so we can learn from it—both our successes and our missteps.
• mentored staff and leaders, consistently producing strong outcomes.
• cried with team members during their most painful life moments.
• led service-recovery efforts and prevented recurring issues by helping our teams and our organization learn, grow, and improve.
• served as a key leader in our recent Epic electronic medical record conversion, setting direction, monitoring progress, and steadily pushing us forward to achieve a successful transition.
• modeled daily what it means to live our Service Standards, ensuring care that is not only excellent but compassionate, safe, efficient, and grounded in respect.
One of her greatest strengths is her ability to build meaningful relationships. She listens deeply, processes thoughtfully, and develops innovative, practical solutions. And she communicates—clearly, consistently, and passionately. (That “Communication word” is truly one of her hot buttons!) She remains sensitive to the hard work and contributions of other leaders and treats every individual with respect.
She embodies what it means to be a lifelong learner. She is also known for being in the right place at the right time—like the day she happened upon a vented patient trying to climb off the end of a stretcher and intervened immediately.
On a personal level, she once navigated life as a single mother, returned to school, and modeled perseverance and resilience for her sons. Healthcare was not her first career, but we are profoundly fortunate that she ultimately chose nursing—and that she chooses, every single day, to walk through our doors with an upbeat yet realistic attitude, ready to make a difference.
Her leadership has shaped who we are. Her heart inspires who we hope to be.