Dorchester resident Stan McLaren, who leads the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, has joined the board of directors at Carney Hospital.

“Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center and Carney Hospital both serve the same community with many of our patients seeking specialty care at Carney,” McLaren said in a statement released by the hospital. “Through my appointment to Carney’s Board of Directors I will provide the Health Center’s perspective on how Carney Hospital can best serve our community’s healthcare needs.”

The news comes as Carney is preparing for a transition at the top of its leadership team. Walter Ramos, who has served as Carney’s president for three years, is leaving to take over as CEO of Rogerson Communities, a housing and health-care non-profit. This week, Carney said that Ramos will be replaced on an interim basis by Tom Sands, former Chief Operating Officer at Good Samaritan Hospital. Sands worked for 20 years with Navicent Health in Macon, Georgia before joining Steward Healthcare, which owns both Carney and Good Samaritan. Ramos and Sands will “start working on the transition” immediately, according to a Carney spokesman.