Arkansas Children's Celebrates $1 Million Anonymous Gift

LITTLE ROCK, AR (May 14, 2024) - Arkansas Children’s has received a generous $1 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the expansion project at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH).

“The children of Arkansas will never stop growing — and neither can we,” said Fred Scarborough, executive vice president and chief development officer for Arkansas Children's. “This anonymous donor family has been a champion for children for more than three decades, and we are incredibly grateful for their $1 million leadership gift to advance Arkansas Children's historic expansion. For more than a century, Arkansas Children’s has been able to expand and make significant advances for children across Arkansas and the region, all thanks to support from donors like this generous family.”

Arkansas Children's is building a new generation of care with its multimillion-dollar expansion project, announced in 2023. The plan will expand bed capacity, transform inpatient and outpatient surgical approaches with the addition of an ambulatory surgery center, redesign clinical spaces to promote multidisciplinary care and create an inviting and accessible campus experience.

Over eight years, the health system’s historic expansion will require nearly $318 million in investment for construction at ACH in Little Rock and ACNW in Springdale. Phase one of construction on the ACH and ACNW campuses began earlier this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

“We’re building the future together in this next chapter of our story,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children's. “Children need Arkansas Children’s. This expansion will expand access to pediatric care, enhance exceptional outcomes for kids, and elevate the patient experience on our campuses.”

From its founding as an orphanage in 1912 to becoming a nationally acclaimed health care system, Arkansas Children’s has remained steadfast in its commitment to being a champion for children. To learn more about the expansion, visit archildrens.org/expansion. To support Arkansas Children's growth, visit archildrens.org/donate or call 800-880-7491 today.

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S

Arkansas Children's is the only health care 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); 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 & Lung Surgery 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 archildrens.org.

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