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David Matthews is the new nurse manager of acute care and intensive care unit (ICU) at VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital (VCU Health CMH).

He began his nursing career there while serving in the Army National Guard 25 years ago. Matthews has more than 10 years of nursing leadership experience and clinical experience in multiple specialties including medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU, ambulatory surgical services, and physician practices. He has a Master of Science in nursing specializing in executive leadership and he is board certified in medical-surgical nursing.

Currently, Matthews is an RN clinical coordinator in the C.A.R.E. building. He splits supervision of all VCU Health CMH clinics with another coordinator. He facilitates a committee that focuses on keeping heart and stroke patients well with the goal of reducing readmissions. He continues to educate himself at every opportunity, most recently taking a course in wound, ostomy and continence care.

“My advice for nurses is to always look for opportunities to learn something,” he said. “Learning should be a lifelong adventure. Always look for ways to improve your communication skills and techniques.”

Matthews is looking forward to the new management position and making an impact on patient improvement scores.

“I’m a big believer in patient satisfaction, safety of our patients and staff, quality assurance, and exceeding benchmarks,” he said. “There is nothing better than seeing the sickest of patients get better right in front of your eyes and return home.”

The transition will be a challenge and he’ll need time to get to know everyone. He’ll start by learning the day-to-day operations and patient flow in the ICU and the medical surgical floors at VCU Health CMH.

“Nurses are known for taking great care of others but don’t take care of themselves,” he said. “I try to manage stress by taking a walk every day after lunch.”

“We are excited to have Matthews returning to the inpatient setting as the nurse manager of acute care and ICU,” Janet Kaiser, senior director of patient care services said. “His extensive nursing and leadership experience, along with his passion for high quality patient care will be beneficial in driving our success towards improved patient outcomes in our community.”

A native of Brunswick County, Matthews currently resides in Bracey. He is married to an RN at Massey Cancer Center. They have a 16-year-old daughter, a dog and a cat. He enjoys cruising (when not in a pandemic), landscaping and gardening. He is an avid fisherman and has a boat he likes to take out on Kerr Lake.