Name: Michael Matthews

Title: VP of Strategy & Market Intelligence

Michael is an Ohio native as this is where he grew up and went to high school.  As a youth he loved playing sports or doing anything outdoors.  In high school he excelled at both academics and athletics which provided an opportunity to attend Georgia Tech on a football scholarship.  While at Georgia Tech he majored in Business Management with an accounting minor.  He was a two-year starter at tight end for the Yellow Jackets.  After college, Michael played professional football in the National Football League for 5 years. During my first season he won Super Bowl 42 with The New York Football Giants.  After football he started a career in healthcare.  His first two roles were in pharmaceutical sales and software sales, these experiences helped provide perspective on the industry of healthcare and gave him good insight into how different industries play a role in patient care.  Michael joined Catholic Health Partners (former parent company of Mercy Health) in 2013 as a revenue cycle liaison (analyst).  This role was instrumental for his growth as he partnered with operational leaders to streamline claim submission processes.  He transitioned from revenue cycle a few years later and joined the business development team to focus on referral management, incremental revenue growth, and network adequacy.  In 2019, Michael joined the corporate strategy team where he assisted market leaders on service expansions and market growth initiatives.  In 2022, he served as chief operating officer of The Jewish Hospital – Mercy Health in Cincinnati, OH.  This was an exciting role that he thoroughly enjoyed.   In 2025, Michael joined Adena Health as the VP of Strategy and Market Intelligence.  This role is similar to his corporate strategy role with Bon Secours Mercy Health, focusing on service expansion and growth strategies. 

1. What are the biggest challenges facing healthcare professionals today?

The challenges in health care are a complex spider web that has many contributing factors.  If you were to ask me to nail it down to one, I would say the challenges are centered around reimbursement from both government and private insurance.  Due to the dynamic chaos of rules and regulations it makes getting paid for providing healthcare services very difficult.   

2. How did your education and training prepare you for your current position?

My education provided me with a strong foundation of business knowledge.  So, my ability to understand the complexity of business structures associated with the healthcare industry is tied directly to my core educational training.

3. How do you think healthcare will change in the next 10 years?

This is a very good question.  It will be interesting to see the landscape of insurance providers and healthcare providers.  I could see reform or possibly a different structure for government health insurance, where it becomes completely privatized.  I believe chronic disease management will improve as pharmaceutical companies continue to evolve treatment therapies.  I believe that technology advancements will continue to play a vital role to improve patient safety and improve patient outcomes.   

4. What role does data, technology, or digital tools play in disease prevention in healthcare?

Data, technology, and digital tools will continue to be an important part of healthcare.  Utilizing strong analytical data is important to maintain awareness, foster education and self-learning, and to drive accountability.  Data is essential to how we learn and track the ability to make progress.  The technology is the backbone and infrastructure that supports the ability to manage data.  The continued advancements for data warehousing, improved computing power, advancements with software, and user interface innovations will make data that much more accessible. 

5. What advice would you give someone considering a career in healthcare?

It would depend on your passions.  If a person was interested in the clinical aspects of healthcare, I would say in addition to studying traditional medicine, take some computer science classes and foundational business courses.  If a person was interested in the business aspects of healthcare, outside of your business training, spend time learning about leadership development.  On the business side, just start anywhere you can.  Be a sponge.  Its more about learning and applying what you are learning in real-time.  Be a good person and treat people with respect.  If you work hard, treat people right, be thorough in your work, and make your boss look good, you will be successful.