Dorval Carter Jr.’s career path led him back to healthcare after a notable detour.
Mr. Carter served as president of the Chicago Transit Authority from 2015 to January 2025, overseeing more than 10,000 employees and $11 billion in projects at the nation’s third-largest public transit system. Now, he is bringing his leadership experience to Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago as president and CEO.
Mr. Carter is no stranger to Saint Anthony. He served on the hospital’s board for more than a decade, most recently as board chair. The Dr. Dorval and Vivian Carter Family Birthing Center is named after his parents, and his father previously chaired the hospital’s OB-GYN department.
And his ties to healthcare run even deeper, he said.
“For two generations, my family has been providing healthcare on the West Side of Chicago,” Mr. Carter told Becker’s. “My grandparents started a skilled nursing facility that I worked at as part of the family business, doing everything from scrubbing floors to handling billing.”
In his first 90 days at the hospital, Mr. Carter has been focused on building connections with staff, visiting facilities and strengthening the hospital’s ability to provide high-quality care. One of the biggest projects on the horizon is a new hospital building, part of the planned Focal Point Community Campus, slated to open in mid-2028.
“Saint Anthony Hospital has a building that’s close to 130 years old, and the dated appearance is not reflective of the quality of the work we do here,” he said. “It’s about taking the quality staff that we have and putting them in a building reflective of the work we provide, and as a result of that building, giving them the tools and resources to expand that level of quality.”
Mr. Carter likens the hospital project to transit investments that drive broader neighborhood development. Saint Anthony’s new facility, part of the mixed-use community development, will be an anchor for economic growth, he said.
“It’s very similar to what you see in the transportation industry around an investment in a new station or rebuilding a station, where the station itself created a certain benefit to the community, but the biggest benefits came from development spurred because of the investment,” he said. “The economic development that will occur around the hospital will support this community in both a very direct way and indirect way.”
Mr. Carter noted other parallels between healthcare and transportation: Both provide vital services and rely on community trust and engagement. The alignment he has seen among Saint Anthony staff around the hospital’s mission reminds him of the CTA team, he said.
He also brings experience navigating complex funding environments, which he plans to leverage at Saint Anthony.
“I have a lot of understanding of the inner workings of Springfield (Ill.), Washington, D.C., and Chicago, and how to work through those bureaucracies to get the support needed to accomplish big goals,” he said. “The advocacy I’ve honed over the years in transportation I now expect and intend to use in my work here in support of the hospital.”
For Mr. Carter, leading Saint Anthony is a deeply personal career move.
“Healthcare is my family’s legacy, and it’s part of my DNA, in terms of my commitment and passion to supporting communities like the one we serve here,” he said. “I feel very connected to not only this hospital, but also to the community that this hospital serves.”
