Marcella Doderer Named CEO For Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Marcella (Marcy) L. Doderer of San Antonio, Texas has been named president and CEO for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Doderer will take the helm of ACH effective July 15, 2013, following the June 30 retirement of ACH President & CEO Dr. Jonathan Bates. The announcement was made today by ACH Board of Directors Chairman Tom Baxter.

“We are delighted to have Marcy join and lead Arkansas Children’s Hospital into our next century of service to the children of Arkansas and their families,” said Baxter. “She is a dynamic leader and brings experience that will help us navigate the uncertainty of healthcare in the years ahead and improve our quality and ability to better deliver a statewide system of care to Arkansas’ kids.”

Doderer has 20 years of health care management experience in a variety of hospital settings. Most recently, she served as Vice President and Administrator of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, part of the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System. Doderer was instrumental in leading the transformation from a multi-use downtown hospital campus into the freestanding, separately licensed Children’s Hospital.

“Throughout my health care career I’ve dreamed of leading an organization such as ACH and being able to do so in my home state of Arkansas creates a dream job,” explained Doderer. “For 100 years, ACH’s focus has been on serving patients and their families; it is a humbling and exciting opportunity to be entrusted with leading that tradition. I look forward to working with the world class clinical teams and leaders to continue enhancing our patient care delivery systems and elevating our presence as a nationally-recognized leader in pediatric subspecialty care.”

From 2002-2008, Doderer held the position of Vice President/Associate Administrator for CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. Prior to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s, she served as Vice President for CHRISTUS St. Joseph’s Health System in Paris, Texas; director, ancillary and support services for Texas Health Resources/McCuistion Regional Medical Center in Paris, Texas; and leadership positions from 1994-1999 at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

Doderer holds a Master of Arts in hospital and health administration from the University of Iowa. She received her Bachelor of Science in finance from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Doderer serves on the boards of Children’s Hospital Association, Children’s Hospital Association of Texas, and South Texas Blood and Tissue Center’s Foundation. She is a member of the Texas Hospital Association’s Council on Policy Development and is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Doderer is married to Mark Doderer, PhD, a computer science professor. They have two children, Emily, 18, and Katherine, 15. She is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School.