Adventist health systems opens up first Washington policy shop

When Carlyle Walton first settled into his new office just steps away from Union Station in Washington, D.C., a friend gave him a hard time about his desk. A small standard-issue used among most office workers, the desk was far from the more formidable-looking model he used to have as CEO of the Texas-based Metroplex Health System, part of Advent Health, where he oversaw more than 1,200 employees. The office, also located a short walk from the U.S. Capitol Building, is a small one in a larger co-working space. He shrugs. "I'm not planning on spending much time there anyway," said Walton, who was named the president of the Adventist Health Policy Association last summer. In his new role at AHPA, an affiliation of five Seventh-day Adventist healthcare systems, he is building up the first Washington policy shop and establishing a stronger national voice for the faith-based nonprofits among federal agencies and congressional offices.