This summer marks President and CEO Marcy Doderer’s 10th anniversary leading Arkansas Children’s Hospital. 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 healthcare 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 Doderer. “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.”