Jim Walton, D.O., M.B.A., vice president of health equity and chief equity officer for Baylor Health Care System, has been named the 2009 Healthcare Access Hero of the Year for the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence.  Dr. Walton received this recognition for his exceptional contributions toward improving health care access for the underprivileged. Dr. Walton received the award on Nov. 16.

In 1999, Dr. Walton, along with other local leaders, developed Project Access Dallas which provides uninsured and under-insured residents of Dallas County with a continuum of health services supported by a network of volunteer physicians, charitable clinics, ancillary providers, and hospitals.  Based on the successful Project Access program in Asheville, NC, Dr. Walton joined forces with Health Texas Provider Network, the Dallas County Medical Society/DCMS Foundation, Central Dallas Ministries, and the Dallas Ft. Worth Hospital Council, to replicate the Asheville program in Dallas. In 2008, over $3.7 million of care was donated to uninsured enrollees through the Project Access Dallas program.

Dr. Walton was the first Medical Director for Project Access Dallas, a position he maintains today.  In this role, Dr. Walton provides clinical oversight and leadership for the program, ensuring high quality care for program enrollees and serving as a figurehead for the program and its volunteers.

Under Dr. Walton’s leadership Project Access Dallas has grown from a core group of 200 volunteer physicians caring for 100 patients to over 2,000 volunteers providing services to 2,000 enrollees.  In addition to the volunteer physicians, 15 local hospitals, two national diagnostic laboratories, and 10 local charitable health clinics help make Project Access a valuable part of Dallas’ healthcare safety net. 

            The Alliance for Healthcare Excellence is an association of health industry leaders who are working to improve the U.S. health care system.  The Alliance promotes access to quality, affordable health care through education, networking, cooperation and collaboration.  Alliance members include health care providers, health care payors, employers who sponsor health plans and health care consumers.

In addition to the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence recognition, Dr. Walton was just elected to a two-year term of the Dallas County Medical Society’s board of directors.  The board provides oversight and direction on the medical society and DCMS Foundation policies.  His two-year term will begin January 1, 2010.

About Baylor Health Care System

Baylor Health Care System, which began in 1903 as a small East Dallas hospital, has evolved into a comprehensive network of facilities in North Texas.  The system is comprised of  hospitals in five counties –including a preeminent academic medical center in Dallas – short-stay surgical hospitals, more than 100 primary and specialty care clinics, a network of physician practices, a dozen rehabilitation clinics,  senior health centers and  ambulatory surgery centers.  More than one million patients annually seek care at Baylor institutions to preserve or restore health. In fiscal year 2008, Baylor Health Care System reported $446 million in community benefits to the Texas Department of State Health Services.