Clifton Porter II

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of long-term nursing facilities, and it’s fortunate for the American Health Care Association that it has a former nursing-home administrator leading its government-affairs department.

Clifton Porter II entered the field after volunteering at a nursing home, and from 1991 to 1998 he was an administrator at nursing facilities in Northern Virginia. In 1998, while working for HCR ManorCare, he became regional director of operations, a notable achievement in an industry with a disproportionately low presence of Black Americans in management roles. 

Porter transitioned to lobbying in 2004 as vice president of government relations at HCR ManorCare, advocating on Capitol Hill against cuts to Medicare and Medicaid funding. In 2014, a year after joining AHCA, he lobbied for passage of the IMPACT Act of 2014, which requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement reforms to improve recordkeeping and quality tracking among providers of post-acute care.

He has cited the role of mentorship and strong connections with industry colleagues as a driving force in his career. One early-career mentor likened him to Jackie Robinson for his rise in the industry’s management ranks. Porter worked under HCR ManorCare COO Keith Weikel, and he called retired Genesis HealthCare lobbyist Larry Lane a mentor during the latter portion of his career.

He has also been a major advocate for fostering partnerships between private and Veterans Affairs facilities, as he believes it allows expanded access for veterans to receive quality care while keeping facilities free from additional regulatory burdens.

Porter has paid it forward with roles in organizations promoting Black leadership. He is a student mentor for the Virginia Commonwealth University African American Alumni Council and serves on the executive committee of Washington Heads of Office, a group for Black government-affairs executives. He’s also a former director of the Ohio Health Care Association and currently serves on the board of directors for Health Quality Innovators.