Arkansas Children’s Celebrates Decade of Growth With CEO Marcy Doderer

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (July 14, 2023) – Over the last decade, Arkansas Children’s has reached more children in more ways where they live, learn and play, and President and CEO Marcy Doderer is proud to reflect on the achievements of the dedicated team she leads.

This summer marks Doderer’s 10th anniversary leading Arkansas’s nationally ranked pediatric health system. A single hospital in Little Rock when she joined the team in 2013, today Arkansas Children’s is a statewide system committed to ensuring every Arkansas child has access to high-quality health care within 60 miles of their home.

“You won't find a leader more committed to improving outcomes for children,” said Jeff Nolan, chair of Arkansas Children’s Board of Directors. “In just 10 years, Marcy has led this organization through significant transformation to better serve the children and families in Arkansas.”

Since her tenure began, Arkansas Children’s built and opened Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), a 24-bed pediatric hospital in Northwest Arkansas, so families in that region of the state could stay close to home for excellent care. ACNW celebrated its 5th anniversary in February, caring for more than 100,000 children and performing 16,000 surgeries since opening its doors. The health system has also expanded care options in Jonesboro and opened the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) Pine Bluff Clinic since 2020.

Doderer has helped the team on a journey to create and foster partnerships to improve outcomes for Arkansas children. Arkansas Children’s created a state-wide pediatric Clinically Integrated Network in 2019 to advance quality initiatives for children across the state of Arkansas. By creating the Arkansas Children’s Nursery Alliance, the health system also supports hospitals around the state so their patients and families have access to the best care near their homes immediately after a baby’s birth.

In that same time, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute has secured more NIH funding than any other 10-year stretch in its history. Arkansas Children’s Foundation has grown exponentially with donor engagement from all 75 Arkansas counties and all 50 states. These relationships and investments provide significant resources to advance the Arkansas Children’s mission.

“My proudest moments over the last decade have come while working alongside the Arkansas Children’s team that does remarkable work on behalf of the children of Arkansas and the region,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, President and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “We are committed to keeping children at the center of our decision-making, giving us the chance to improve the health of our individual patients and the community as a whole.”

Arkansas Children’s has experienced substantial growth over the last 10 years and that will continue as the health system embarks on its most ambitious clinical expansion in its history. An additional 265,000 square feet will be added between the two hospital campuses, surgical approaches will be transformed and care space will be redesigned, all with the ultimate aim of delivering unprecedented child health in Arkansas.

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S

Arkansas Children's is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' more than 700,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); the state’s only magnetoencephalography (MEG) system for neurosurgical planning and cutting-edge research; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023—2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit www.archildrens.org.

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