New chief administrator named at Arkansas Children’s Northwest

According to the hospital system, Dr. Rustin Morse is the new chief administrator at Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) in Springdale. He will begin in July after relocating his family from Columbus, Ohio.

Morse has two decades of experience in pediatric health system leadership roles, including chief quality officer and chief medical officer. He replaces Shannon Hendrix, who departed in January.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Morse to the operational leadership team for Arkansas Children’s,” said Chief Operating Officer Jamie Wiggins. “His insights as a pediatrician and business innovator will be essential as ACNW contributes to our system vision of defining and delivering unprecedented child health.”

Marcy Doderer, CEO of Arkansas Children’s, cited Morse for his strategic vision and leadership qualities that will play a role in providing care to children and families in Northwest Arkansas. A dual board-certified pediatrician and pediatric emergency medicine specialist, Morse most recently worked as chief medical officer for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He practiced clinically during his tenure while also working as a professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

“Northwest Arkansas and ACNW are at an inflection point with respect to pediatric care,” Morse said. “I look forward to working with the Arkansas Children’s team, physicians and the community as we chart our course for the future of ACNW.”

Morse received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oswego and his medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse, now Upstate Medical University. He completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and his pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Children’s Memorial Hospital, now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

After finishing his fellowship in 2001, he joined the medical staff at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and was named the medical director for quality in 2008. In 2012, he received a master’s degree in medical management from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, and relocated to Texas to become the chief quality officer at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, now part of Children’s Health.

ACNW is adding 72,000 square feet of new hospital space as part of a $318 million system-wide construction package.