John Furman

Dr. Furman worked for the state of Washington for 45 years as a recreation therapist, psychiatric childcare counselor, and registered nurse. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Washington and a PhD in health administration from Western Kennedy University – along with national certifications in psychiatric nursing, infection control, and occupational health nursing. Service positions include the boards of the Washington State Public Health Association, Washington State Healthcare Safety Council, Washington State Association of Occupational Health Nursing, and the Northwest Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

In his role with the Washington State OSHA program, he has been a major driver of occupational safety and health policy – authoring state regulation on violence in healthcare, protection of personal healthcare information, outdoor heat exposure, and exposure to hazardous medications – just to name a few. Prior to retiring from state service Dr. Furman served as the director of the Washington State Health Professionals Program – the state approved substance use monitoring program for nurses. He was a long-time board member of the National Organization of Alternative Programs and chaired its research committee, helping to connect nursing with addiction science

Matthew Walters

Mr. Walters is the Vice President of Clinical Services for SpecialCare Hospital Management. His responsibilities include evaluation of clinical care delivery and oversight of all clinical operations; ensuring clinical efficacy by evaluating performance standards against national standards of care; as well as company expectations and policy. Through establishing and adopting best practices and services according to evidence-based practice, Mr. Walters oversees clinical service development and incorporates national practice standards into SpecialCare services. Mr. Walters is responsible for collaboration with hospital administration, nursing, and physician staff in addition to clinical oversight and staff development of SpecialCare employees.

Mr. Walters is a Registered Nurse with over 14 years of experience in various nursing and healthcare leadership roles. Throughout his professional career, he has implemented hospital-based services at over 60 hospital locations nationwide and developed services to conform to individual demographical hospital needs. Mr. Walters has a broad nursing background within many specialty areas of inpatient and outpatient facilities. He has worked in critical care, intensive care, medical/surgical, and education within acute care hospitals. He has served as a legal expert in the field of addiction nursing and provided testimony in cases involving both defense and plaintiff correspondence.