Desmar Walkes, MD, FAASFM

Medical Director and Health Authority for Austin /Travis County, Texas

Board certified in Family Practice, American Association for Physician Specialists, 1997 – Present
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas – Medical Degree, 1986
Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada – Bachelor of Science, Biology, 1980

Dr. Walkes joined the Austin Public Health team as the Medical Director and Health Authority for Austin /Travis County, Texas in May 2021. She formerly served as the Health Authority for Bastrop County for 13 years. Dr. Walkes has over 30 years of experience in clinical medicine as well as having traveled to various parts of Central and South America, Asia and Africa as a medical missionary. Her journey has allowed her to serve as the Chief of Staff and Director of Quality Assurance Smithville’s rural hospital. Dr. Walkes completed her medical training at the University of Texas Medical Branch and did her internship at Baylor College of Medicine. She is board certified in Family Practice. Her approach to patient care is holistic and addresses the complexities of chronic medical conditions from an evidence-based lens while addressing the impact of lifestyle including diet, exercise and sleep and access issues. During her multispecialty JACHO accredited outpatient practice, she founded a clinic for the underinsured and uninsured in Bastrop. She has tirelessly worked with Bastrop County Cares on county wide initiatives to start the Family Connects and most recently partnered with Bastrop County Cares delivering 38,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the community with the help of volunteers. Dr. Walkes has observed and worked to correct inequity through her career and is committed to work towards a system wide training to mitigate the effects of racism, microaggression’s and foster recovery as we move on from this pandemic. Dr. Walkes looks forward to maintaining existing APH relationships and collaborations while ensuring that healthcare delivery and wellness services are available to all residents in the Austin/Travis County communities.

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