Dr. Robert Bruce Walker was born and educated in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida and its College of Medicine. He moved to Lincoln County in 1975 and helped establish the Lincoln Primary Care Center near Hamlin. This center was recognized as the "Outstanding Rural Practice in America" in 1991.
Dr. Walker joined the faculty of the Marshall University School of Medicine in 1979. He later became professor and chairman of the Department of Family and Community Health and associate dean for clinical affairs. In 1989, Dr. Walker became the first Marshall faculty member to be named West Virginia's "Professor of the Year."
Dr. Walker has dedicated his career to improving health care for the rural and underserved citizens of West Virginia. He has been recognized as the rural health physician of the year by the West Virginia Medical Association and received the West Virginia Academy of Family Practice "Mister Doc" Award. He has advised Congress on rural health and was named a "Distinguished West Virginian" by Governor Gaston Caperton. Dr. Walker continues to practice family medicine in Hamlin and directs the Benedum Rural Geriatric Program for isolated rural elderly and still makes house calls.
