As the newest member of the board that runs the financially endangered Grady Health System, Thomas Dortch brings a reputation as a bridge builder, experienced in business and politics.

As a two-time cancer survivor, he also brings a first-hand appreciation for the medical profession.

JESSICA MCGOWAN/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)

Thomas Dortch brings a reputation as a bridge builder to the hospital board.

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"I believe God has a purpose for me," he said, "getting people to understand that ... wealth will never be good for you if you don't have your health."

Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves appointed Dortch to the 10-member Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, the board that runs Grady, on Wednesday. Dortch was one of 17 members on a Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce task force that recommended that the authority give up management of the hospital in order to attract funding from banks, the state and other sources.

Under the task force plan, the authority would turn over operation of the hospital to a private, nonprofit corporation. The authority would continue to exist as the owner of the hospital's real estate.

The task force was formed at the authority's request to address the needs of Grady, which has lost money every year since 2000. Consultants say the health system could fail to meet payroll by the end of the year without an influx of cash.

The Rev. Timothy McDonald, one of the leaders of the Grady Coalition, has criticized the task force plan as an effort by the predominantly white business community to gain control of the hospital and its $700 million annual budget. But McDonald said he can work with Dortch.

"Tommy is a bridge builder," McDonald said. "He's a reconciler. ... I have nothing but the utmost respect for him."

Michael Russell, CEO of H.J. Russell & Co. and co-chairman of the task force, praised Dortch as an astute businessman with a record of community service.

"On the Grady board," Russell said, "he brings a degree of credibility with the business community and the African-American community. He can be an important bridge to make sure the best thing is being done for Grady and the people Grady serves."

Born in Toccoa, Dortch, 57, was the youngest of six children of a restaurateur and a housewife. He graduated from an all-black high school as salutatorian of his class and an all-state basketball forward.

At Fort Valley State University, he became a student activist, protesting the curfew in the women's dormitories, the food in the cafeteria and the school's strict class-attendance policy.

But there were also meatier matters. As student government president, he helped form a committee that held voter registration drives that would change Fort Valley's political face.

His efforts impressed some civil rights leaders, who recruited him to run for a spot on the delegation to the 1972 Democratic National Convention. He lost to then-sitting Gov. Jimmy Carter, but later worked in Carter's gubernatorial administration helping to start day care centers for mothers on public assistance. His own mother went back to college and took a job in one of the centers he helped to establish.

After a stint with the state Democratic Party during the tenure of Carter's successor, Gov. George Busbee, Dortch spent 17 years — from 1978 until 1995—working for then Sen. Sam Nunn, eventually becoming Nunn's state director.

Nunn, via e-mail, described Dortch this week as "energetic, innovative and smart" and a "terrific leader in the Atlanta community."

"Grady," said Nunn, "is fortunate to have him as a member of its board."

From politics, Dortch turned to business, opening a consulting firm and operating a parking company, a nonemergency transportation firm and an investment group.

Not everything he touched was golden. As chairman of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, Dortch pushed the authority to open Fanplex, an entertainment center intended to revitalize the struggling neighborhood near Turner Field.

But Fanplex was a financial flop and closed its doors in 2004, only two years after it opened.

Dortch also has led a range of charitable organizations. As president of 100 Black Men of America, he expanded the group's reach from 43 U.S. chapters to 102 around the world. From his experiences, both being mentored and mentoring, he wrote a book called "The Miracles of Mentoring."

Dortch, who is married and has three children, two stepchildren and six grandchildren, says he has led a blessed life.

At 38, he was found to have a life-threatening malignancy in his small intestine. With surgery and chemotherapy, he beat the odds. This year, prostate cancer was discovered during a routine check-up.

"I'm here, alive and well," he said, "and all my tests look great."

His goal on the Grady board, Dortch says, is to be "a team player" and to help provide good health care for everyone who needs it.

As a member of the Chamber of Commerce task force, he said he doesn't "buy into the idea that somebody's trying to come in and take over Grady."

But he said challenges of power and politics need to be addressed after the hospital is saved.

"I want to make sure folks understand the urgency we have before us," he said.

"People will die in this city and state if Grady's not open. It's not a scare tactic. It's the truth."

THE THOMAS WESLEY DORTCH JR. FILE

• Born: Toccoa, 1950

• Education: B.A., Fort Valley State University; Ford Fellow, Urban Administration, Georgia State University; M.A., Criminal Justice Administration, Clark Atlanta University

• Background: Georgia Department of Human Resources, 1974; Democratic Party of Georgia, 1974-1978; aide to U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, 1978-1995

• Current positions: chairman and CEO of TWD Inc., consulting; president, South West Investment Group; CEO, Atlanta Transportation Systems Inc.; chairman and CEO, Cornerstone Parking Co.

• Family: Married to the former Carole Massey