Carlyle Walton Rollins Brook Community Hospital had been through some troubling times in the late 1980s and early 1990s -- from hospital foreclosure to doctors' refusal to accept patients until specific conditions and upgrades were made.

It was unclear at that point if the medical facility, which had been a community fixture since the 1930s, would survive its challenges.

Lampasas needed its hospital, and it needed a hero -- someone who could bring the facility out of obscurity and push it into the 20th century.

That man was Carlyle Walton.

Through the turbulent times, Walton -- named RBCH administrator and vice president of Metroplex Hospital in October 1991 -- was hailed as a savior of sorts, a leader. Community members cheered his arrival with the expectation that great things were going to happen to the little hospital on the hill.

And they weren't disappointed. For nearly a decade Walton helped the Lampasas hospital in- crease, upgrade and expand not only its building but the scope of services offered to the community.

And then others took notice.

In 1998, Walton was selected for a position in Greenville, Tenn., where he served as president/CEO of Takoma Regional Hospital.

While there, he had success in physician recruitment efforts, expansion projects and community relations.

And local excitement was stirred once again with the announcement that Walton was headed back to Texas to accept the post of president/ chief executive officer of Metroplex Health System, owned by Adventist Health Systems.

The decision to return to Texas was left in God's hands, Walton said. "When the opportunity presented itself, I interviewed and then prayed about it. I didn't need to think about it because God wanted us to be here."

Walton said he was excited about heading back to Central Texas. "I had kept in touch with Ken [Finch, former president/CEO of Metroplex Health System]. I knew about the progress being made here, not only the physical aspect of the plant but the increase in the number of services and employees. And I saw a lot of value in our relationship with Scott & White [Hospital]."

Walton said he is thrilled with the number of employees still at Metroplex and Rollins Brook since his first tenure. "People love being part of a team, and that has encour- them to stick around for many years. Myself, I plan to grow old here."

The new CEO said he is amazed at the growth in the Killeen area since he left. "When we moved away, it was 65,000, and now the population is 112,000, and Metroplex continues to be a vital and key player in all of Central Texas.

"There is amazing untapped potential in Killeen and Lampasas," he said. "We want to continue to partner with Family Medicine Clinic to recruit more doctors for Lampasas to provide them access to the best health care they can get at home. The new partnership with Scott & White also will help cut down on travel time, and a lot of those services will be available in Killeen."

Walton said changes will be necessary to provide high-quality health care services to all residents. "I am not about making wholesale changes. I am still in the listening and learning mode. I am observing how things are done."

Administrators are looking at equipment for the local hospital. Lampasas has been promised more technology, including an advanced CT scanner, and Walton said that should be delivered by the end of the year, giving Rollins Brook Community Hospital full-time radiology coverage.

"We will be looking at many things that need to be done and prioritizing them based on community needs, and then we will respond appropriately," he said. "Metroplex as a system has made phenomenal strides in service, and at the end of the day, it's what we can do to provide unparalleled service."

The CEO said talks are continuing with Metroplex Health System and Family Medicine Clinic physicians to partner to build new office space. Though discussion is in the preliminary stages with the clinic manager and doctors, Walton said they are committed to making it happen. "We need to recruit more physicians and build up the patient count and services offered. And to do that, more space is needed. They use every nook and cranny in the building now."

A master plan for each of Metroplex's campuses will be considered by the end of the year, along with what the future could have in store for each. That includes lookaged ing at available land and how it can most effectively be utilized for maximum gain, he said.

And an 80,000-square-foot medical office building is under construction near Metroplex Pavilion. It is at 65 percent occupancy by Scott & White specialists who will be based there full time, giving Central Texas an expanded base of specialties including general surgery, urology, gastroenterology, cardiology, orthopedics, obstetrics/gynecology and more.

"The physicians can provide their services at Metroplex, and they can refer patients to Metroplex now that we have that relationship," said Walton. Scott & White has 32 percent ownership of the assets of Metroplex Health System, and Metroplex has 100 percent of the management.

"Don't expect to see us stand still. There are so many positive things happening, and we need to be a part of that and continue to be a strong health-care provider that is vital to the quality of life and health."

Walton said he looks forward to renewing old acquaintances and making new friends.

"It's challenging," he said of his new post. "The mission of Adventist Health System is to extend the healing ministry of Christ and to see patients leave not only with healed hearts but with healed spirits. I never get tired of seeing that."

Walton, who will try to be at Rollins Brook once a month, will work closely with Jeff Villaneuva, administrator of the Lampasas hospital and vice president of Metroplex Health System.

Adventist Health System also encourages its senior executives and department directors to contribute toward the enrichment of their communities. "That is an integral part of being a responsible corporate citizen."

Walton, who said he already has scoped out Hancock Park Municipal Golf Course ("where I have made lifelong friends"), is an avid golfer and recently joined the Killeen/Harker Heights Rotary Club.

He said the key is to provide services that meet the needs of area communities. "That's why we do an ongoing assessment of our needs. It's easy to say we do that because other facilities do, but we do it because it's needed here. It helps us be responsible stewards of what we have."

Walton said stemming from a needs assessment was the opening of the new wound care and hyperbaric care center -- the only one of its kind between here and Waco, he noted.

"That's a clear example of developing and providing a service in a way that meets the community's needs," he said. "And with the rapid growth we have seen since its opening, we are looking into a satellite center in Lampasas.

"We have a lot on the drawing board. We are always in the mode of what can we do to serve our citizens better."

Walton noted that a new service coming is a clinic out of Metroplex Hospital for laparascopic lap banding. "That is another example of fulfilling a community's needs."

With so much of his responsibilities focused in the Killeen area, he and his wife, Astrid, likely will purchase a home in Harker Heights. Their children are both in college -- their son a junior in Tennessee, and their daughter studying at a school of architecture in Michigan.

"I am delighted to be back and look forward to learning and growing together. This is a beautiful place to call home," he said of Central Texas.

Walton said the 10 years he spent previously in Lampasas enriched his family's lives.

"You realize if you willingly give of yourself to a community and its people, what you get back in return is many multiples of what you give."

Walton said a favorite quote comes from Theodore Roosevelt and is appropriate for the hospital administrator as well: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."