Contact & Appointment Information
- Capital Caring Health Headquarters
3180 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 500
Falls Church, VA 22042 - Phone: 703-485-8949
Department: Hospice & Palliative Care
About Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum, M.D
A Lifelong Champion for Kindness, Respect, and Top-End-of-Life Care
In this human-focused area, Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum ranks as a top leader in the U.S. As a veteran doctor at Capital Caring Health, Dr. Kestenbaum has spent his career advancing end-of-life systems, shaping policies, and offering kind, respectful aid in patients’ toughest times.
Named among America’s Top 50 Doctors, his efforts blend sharp clinical skills, policy guidance, and steady compassion.
A Career Focused on Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum joined Capital Caring Health in 2006. It is one of the biggest and best nonprofit hospice and palliative care groups in the U.S.
Over the years, he has earned fame as an expert in:
Hospice medical direction, Palliative program building, End-of-life choices, Health policy and ethics
His steady work shows he knows medicine shifts to comfort, respect, and emotional help when treatments end.
Early Training and School Roots
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum built a solid base in internal medicine at top U.S. schools.
He got his MD from UMDNJ–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. It trains skilled, caring doctors.
After that, he did his internal medicine residency at Northwestern University Medical School. There, he honed his diagnosis and grasped tough adult diseases.
This prep gave him tools to handle serious, lasting, life-shortening illnesses.
Shift to Hospice and Palliative Care
Post-residency, Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum led as a hospice medical director for over ten years. He gained deep, hands-on end-of-life skills.
This time changed him in work and views. He grew to see hospice as a focus shift to:
Comfort over cure, Life quality over extra treatments, Help for patients and families’ feelings
This view shaped his later roles and policy input.
Role at Capital Caring Health
Since 2006 at Capital Caring Health, Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum has molded hospice and palliative services in Virginia and beyond.
The group offers full services like:
Home and inpatient hospice Palliative advice Grief help Programs for serious illness
He aids direct care and big fixes that lift patient care and teamwork.
His lead makes sure serious patients get medical aid plus fitting emotional and spiritual support.
Work on the Virginia POST Program
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum’s key win is leading the Virginia POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment) effort.
POST records patient end-of-life wishes. It matches orders to choices, boosts doctor talks, and stops unwanted care.
His role shows drive to respect patient choice and match care to personal values.
He aided the wide use of POST forms statewide for clear end-of-life plans.
Teamwork with CMS and National Health Groups
Beyond state work, Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum teamed with CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) on hospice and palliative projects.
His input covers:
Policy building, Quality boosts, Care team models, Ethics for serious illness
These steps set U.S. hospice standards that stay patient-first and value-based.
Core Belief in Hospice: Respect at All Stages
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum’s practice rests on this hospice truth:
Every patient merits respect, ease, and honor at life’s end.
He stresses more than disease tracking:
Pain and symptom relief Emotional and mental help Family advice and learning Patient choice respect
This guides patients and kin through hard shifts with clear kindness.
Talks in End-of-Life Care
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum excels at sharing tough, feeling-laden medical facts with clear warmth.
In hospice, talks aid:
Knowing patient wants Family grief and choice help Prognosis and option facts Fear and doubt cuts
His style brings honest, kind respect to end-of-life chats.
Aid for Families in Hospice
Hospice reaches past patients to kin and caregivers.
Dr. Matthew Kestenbaum stresses:
Family emotional help, Disease advance facts, Care duty guidance, Grief tools
This family backing keeps them from facing pain alone.
Skills in Tough Cases
Dr. Kestenbaum has treated many hard conditions needing hospice or palliative care, such as:
Late-stage cancer, final heart failure Brain diseases like dementia Lasting organ loss Elder multi-body fade
His internal medicine roots let him assess fully for custom care plans.
Ethics and Kindness in Today’s Medicine
Hospice brings hard ethics on treatment limits, patient choice, and life quality.
Dr. Kestenbaum earns praise for:
Handling ethics with care. Weighing treatments and comfort, Pushing patient-led choices, Aiding kin in feeling-heavy picks
His efforts prove that ethical care means kind care.
Palliative Care’s Early Role
Health care’s big gain in 20 years is the early palliative blend.
Dr. Kestenbaum backs this for patients to:
Get symptom ease soon. Boost life quality in treatment. Gain better care links. Skip needless hospital stays
This link joins curative care to hospice.
A Doctor Honored for Leadership and Results
Dr. Kestenbaum earned his spot as one of America’s top doctors. This shows his strong skills in patient care. It also highlights his work to improve hospice and palliative care.
His efforts shaped these areas:
End-of-life care rules at the state level, Hospice rules across the nation, Best ways to treat palliative care, patients
Peers view him as a top doctor. They also see him as a wise guide in health care changes.
Final Thoughts
Matthew Kestenbaum’s career shows medicine’s best traits. These include kindness, respect, and full focus on patient health.
His field faces life’s hardest times. Dr. Kestenbaum works to let patients shine as people, not just their sickness.
His role at Capital Caring Health matters. So does his lead in Virginia’s POST program. His national policy work fits one goal: care that fits each person’s values, ease, and respect.
His mark goes beyond years served or rules made. It lives in many lives and families. They found calm, help, and kindness through his care.
FAQs
Q. Who is Matthew Kestenbaum, MD?
Matthew Kestenbaum treats hospice and palliative care patients. He works with Capital Caring Health in Virginia. He leads in end-of-life care.
Q. Why is Dr. Kestenbaum well known?
He leads in hospice medicine and policy. He works hard to improve end-of-life care.
Q. Does he work with families?
Yes. He supports families a lot. This covers talks and end-of-life advice.
Q. How does he improve the quality of life for patients?
He eases symptoms. He offers emotional help. He matches care to patient’s wants.
Q. What makes his approach unique?
His style stresses: Patient respect, Comfort, not hard treatments, Talks centered on family, Right choices in ethics