Mingling prescribed for Children’s Hospital head
As the receiving line grew inside the Little Rock Country Club to meet Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s new President and Chief Executive Officer Marcella “Marcy” Doderer, it was decided a more relaxed approach would be best, and everyone filed inside to properly mingle with wine and light appetizers.
“She loves all food, almost any kind,” but lists Thai and Mexican among her favorites, said board chairman Tom Baxter, who reintroduced the city to the Central High School alumna by way of snippets of personal information about her.
The two-hour, invitation-only welcome reception for community and civic leaders was hosted by the hospital’s board of directors and foundation board. The approximately 200 in attendance were given a chance to meet Doderer, her husband, Mark, and daughter Katie. Her elder daughter, Emily, is attending college in Colorado.
Doderer stepped into a job held by outgoing president Dr. Jonathan Bates, who retired after 20 years with the hospital. Her first day in her post was July 15.
As the hospital’s leader, Doderer oversees an operation with 370 patient beds and more than 4,000 employees.
She took the microphone and expressed her devotion to her new position at the hospital by saying, “We may not be perfect but we can absolutely be excellent.”