Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute Names Two New Directors

Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute has named Rachael Elaine Dorval, MBA, BSN, R.N., as executive director of Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute ambulatory clinics and Chris Thornton, MBA, BSN, R.N., as corporate director of cardiac interventional services.  

Dorval earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Emory University in Atlanta and her Master of Business Administration in health care management from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia. She has been a registered nurse for more than 15 years. During her career, Dorval has served as nurse clinician at Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital, as senior staff nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital and as specialty nurse manager at Kaiser Permanente. She initially came to Baptist Health Care in 2015 to serve as director of clinical operations for BHVI physicians until she relocated to Texas and worked as practice administrator for Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio and corporate nursing coordinator for Magenta/HEB. Dorval returned to BHC last year to serve as director of operations for BHVI where she was responsible for administrative operations and team member development. In her new, expanded role as executive director, Dorval’s duties include responsibility for fiscal operations, strategic planning and provider recruitment.

Thornton earned both his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and his Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, where he was a three-year letterman on the varsity football team. He has been a nurse for more than 24 years and brings extensive experience working with cardiac patients both at the bedside in the ICU and in the heart catheterization lab. For the last nine years, he served as director of catheterization, electrophysiology, and transesophageal echocardiogram labs at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was responsible for ensuring quality outcomes using evidence-based practice, team building, process improvement and refinement. In his role with BHVI, Thornton is responsible for overseeing the strategic growth and development of the cardiac catheterization lab, the electrophysiology lab, interventional radiology, perfusion and ECMO.

For more information, visit ebaptisthealthcare.org/heart.