Leslie Scott Matthews, MD, MBA, MS
Leslie Scott Matthews, MD, MBA, MS is an orthopaedic surgeon, Emeritus Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, and the former Medical Director of Philanthropy for MedStar Health. Dr. Matthews previously served as Chief of Orthopaedics at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and Regional Director of Orthopaedics for MedStar Health.
Dr. Matthews is an emeritus member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA), American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) and American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES). Dr. Matthews has served as the President of the AANA, Chair of the Arthroscopy Journal Board of Trustees, Chair of the Orthopaedic Learning Center Board of Directors, and Chair of AANA Foundation Board of Directors. Dr. Matthews has advised numerous healthcare and medical device companies as a consultant and/or board member including: HealthGrades, Rotation Medical, Arthrocare, Zipline, Rotation Medical, Parcus Medical, OrthoSpace and has consulted for many more innovators in Orthopaedics.
Dr. Matthews attended Johns Hopkins University where he was a two-time first team All-American lacrosse player. He has been inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and completed his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed fellowship training in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Matthews also holds an MBA from the Sellinger School of Business at Loyola University and a Master’s Degree in medical cannabis science & therapeutics from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Matthews most recent work as a Medical Director of Philanthropy was focused on supporting and enhancing an innovative gratitude-inspired philanthropy model that became the cornerstone of transformational philanthropy in the health system. Establishing an enduring culture of gratitude throughout the organization that supported patients as well as caregivers was the focus of his most recent professional efforts.
Now, Dr. Matthews has committed his professional life to bringing important change to healthcare across the world, helping to inspire and train clinicians to identify gratitude from patients and families, accept those expressions of gratitude in a humble and inviting manner, and then ensure those grateful individuals become immediately connected to a professional colleague who can help triage that gratitude. When this is accomplished, patients and families feel more respected, which enhances patient and family experience. And, as those expressions of gratitude are shared with care teams, clinician burnout is often reduced. In many cases, patients and families will ultimately also choose to accept invitations to make philanthropic investments to advance the work of care teams for whom they are grateful, resulting in expanded philanthropic support for healthcare organizations.