HUNTSVILLE – Crestwood Medical Center’s Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Matthew Banks as Chief Executive Officer effective July 18.

Banks joins Crestwood from Merit Health Wesley, a 211-bed acute care facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he has served as CEO for the past 4 years.

Previously, he was CEO at Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville, North Carolina; Chief Operating Officer at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, North Carolina; and Chief Operating/Nursing Officer and Interim CEO at Stringfellow Memorial Hospital in Anniston, Alabama.

Banks’s continuous focus on service line growth and patient access to support the community’s medical needs has led to many successful initiatives in his previous positions including physician recruitment, service line expansion and operational improvement, and transfer center program design and implementation. His commitment to quality of care is demonstrated through numerous accreditations including cardiology, maternity, stroke, diabetes, and bariatrics as well as consistent Top Quartile Performance on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), strong employee and physician satisfaction engagement, and overall improvement in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) star ratings.

“We are confident in Matthew’s exceptional leadership and hospital operational expertise to not only continue our mission of providing quality care with service excellence and more access for our growing region but also to develop effective, collaborative relationships with our physicians, employees, and community as a whole,” states Mike Gillespie, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “His commitment to the community’s well-being, advancements in medical care, and working closely with local government, businesses, and community organizations will support continued delivery of quality healthcare in our area.”

Banks holds his Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Bachelors of Science in Psychology, and Masters of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Health Services Administration degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and an Associates degree in Nursing from Troy University.

“It is a humbling opportunity to join the Crestwood team whose members have consistently lived out the mission of improving patients’ quality of life and enhancing the well-being of the community,” says Banks. “I’m excited to support the work of the skilled, compassionate physicians and employees delivering quality care and services.”

Banks replaces outgoing CEO, Dr. Pam Hudson. Hudson will transition to an executive position at Crestwood with a focus on physician initiatives. Crestwood has seen tremendous growth over the last decade and a half that includes a 60-bed patient tower addition; a 17-bed expansion of the Emergency Department; the recruitment of 80 primary and key specialty care physicians; the addition of 10 primary care clinics across the community for ease of patient care access; the addition of an all-private room, 10-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); and outpatient services in Madison and northern Madison County.

Crestwood continues to be a strong corporate citizen in our community and consistently ranks among the top 20 employers in Madison County with approximately 1,200 employees and a total annual payroll of over $83.6 million. In 2021, Crestwood contributed $14.2 million in property and sales taxes; spent $12.2 million in capital projects for new patient-care equipment and to improve the physical plant; and provided approximately $137.6 million in charity and uncompensated care for the uninsured and underinsured people of our community.

The Crestwood Board of Trustees extends sincere appreciation to Dr. Hudson for her dedication, commitment, service, and successful initiatives at Crestwood during her 15-year tenure as chief executive officer.