Arkansas Children’s will welcome experienced children’s health executive Jamie Wiggins, PhD(c), MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, to the position of executive vice president and chief operations officer after an extensive and competitive national search, the state’s only pediatric health system announced. He will begin serving in the system-wide role in August.
Wiggins joins the Arkansas Children’s team after serving most recently as senior vice president, chief clinical officer, and chief nursing officer at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. Wiggins has also held leadership positions at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Children’s Minnesota, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
“With nearly 20 years of experience in children’s hospital clinical and administrative operations, Jamie brings a deep understanding of pediatric healthcare safety, quality, and innovation to his new role,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “During the search process, we identified the need for a strategic, humble and empathetic leader capable of executing on the improvement of patient experience, employee engagement, and growth. I am confident we have found that leader in Jamie.”
In his role as COO, Wiggins will be a driver of the strategic vision in advancement of solidifying Arkansas Children's as a destination for pediatric care in the state and broader region while addressing and improving the health of the children it serves.
Wiggins is a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing candidate at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, where he is researching the association of the nursing professional practice environment on pediatric acute care outcomes. He also is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a certified nurse executive-advanced by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
He earned his associate degree in nursing from Pitt Community College, Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of San Francisco, Master of Science in Nursing and Health Systems Leadership from University of California – San Francisco, and Master of Business Administration from Nicholls State University.
Wiggins and his husband Jack Dinetz will be relocating to Little Rock, and he will begin his new role on August 9.
Trisha Montague, who has served as executive vice president and interim chief operations officer for the last 10 months, will retire at the end of June. She was responsible for helping develop and lead Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale and stepped into the interim chief operations officer position last summer, playing an integral role in the search for a permanent successor.