Jim Walton, D.O.
Vice President of Health Equity and Chief Equity Officer
Jim Walton, D.O., is chief equity officer and vice president of health equity for Baylor Health Care System in Dallas. In this role, he is charged with overseeing health care equity improvement throughout the System and ambulatory care centers through HealthTexas Provider Network, Baylor's physician group. He also chairs the BHCS Health Equity Advisory Council.
Dr. Walton, whose career spans more than two decades in health care management, clinical practice and research pertinent to community health improvement, is dedicated to serving the economically disadvantaged and working to improve health care access for all.
He joined Baylor in 1996 as medical director of the Office of Community Health. Since 2000, he has served as the medical director of Project Access Dallas, a network of more than 650 physicians and 15 hospitals providing comprehensive health care access to uninsured people throughout Dallas County. He also developed and currently oversees the BHCS Volunteers-in-Medicine program and has worked on community-level initiatives to pilot health improvement strategies.
He is active in the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association's efforts to improve Medicaid operations and funding. He serves on numerous state Medicaid-related committees, including the governor's Ad-hoc committee on Medicaid in 2004 and the Department of Health and Human Services' Committee on Integrated Care Management in 2005.
Dr. Walton's clinical work concentrates on making home visits to patients referred from Baylor hospitals, with a particular focus on neurologically traumatized patients. His current research interest explores how community and faith-based health programs impact access to care and improve health outcome disparities for the medically underserved by partnering with community-based health care systems.
He is a board member for the Central Dallas Ministries and the Lone Star Association of Charitable Clinics. He participates in numerous international medical mission relief trips annually, including a visit to the tsunami-ravaged areas of India and Indonesia in 2005.
Dr. Walton earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas in 1978 and a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center 1982. He is board certified in internal medicine.