Mr. Robert M. Walton was appointed Director, South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) on November 16, 2015. With an FY15 budget for STVHCS of $678 million and 3500 employees, Mr. Walton oversees health care services for about 85,000 unique Veterans. In FY15, STVHCS provided 1,718,921 outpatient visits to area Veterans.

From April 2012 to November 2015, Mr. Walton served as Director of the Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System in Harlingen, Texas. He also served as the Medical Center Director at the White River Junction VA Medical Center from October 2008 – April 2012. Before Mr. Walton’s tenure at White River Junction VA, he served as Associate Medical Center Director at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, New York from May 2004 – October 2008.

Mr. Walton served as Acting Director at VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System from February-September 2008. Mr. Walton served as Chief, Engineering Service at Bronx VAMC from 1993-2004. He also served as Assistant Chief, Engineering Service at VA medical centers in Marlin, Texas, Montrose, New York, and Bronx, New York. Mr. Walton began his VA career in 1986 at Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Walton has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Administration degree in Health Administration from Long Island University. He is a graduate of the VHA Executive Career Field Program and participated in the VA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. Mr. Walton is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. The New York Federal Executive Board selected Mr. Walton as the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Executive of the Year Award.