ADMINISTRATORS OF STATE’S LARGEST HOSPITALS

Chad S. Aduddell

CHI St. Vincent

Little Rock

Chad S. Aduddell has been CEO of CHI St. Vincent since 2015. He previously served as executive vice president and chief operations officer of CHI St. Vincent and president of CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. Aduddell came to CHI St. Vincent from St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, where he served as president of the Bone & Joint Hospital and chair and administrator of Saints Heart and Vascular Institute.

Mark Amox

Unity

Health-White County Medical Center

Searcy

Mark Amox was appointed president and CEO of Unity Health in 2022. Prior to his role with Unity Health, Amox served as chief operating officer of Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, president and CEO of El Paso Children’s Hospital in Texas and administrator of Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville, Fla. Amox also spent eight years as the administrator of pediatrics at UAMS.

Chris Barber

St. Bernards Medical Center

Jonesboro

Chris Barber is president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare, which serves 23 counties in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri. In his three decades with St. Bernards, Barber worked his way up from intern to administrator before assuming his current role; he has now overseen the corporate operations of the nonprofit health care system for 13 years.

Shawn Barnett

CHI St. Vincent North

Sherwood

Shawn Barnett became COO for the Infirmary and North at CHI St. Vincent in 2019. He previously served as senior vice president and CFO of CHI St. Vincent. Barnett has an extensive background in health care administration, working for both for-profit and nonprofit health care systems. He came to CHI St. Vincent from CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial in Lufkin, Texas, where he served as president and COO. Before that, he was regional CFO for CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System in San Antonio.

Jeff Carrier

Baptist Health-Fort Smith

Fort Smith

Jeff Carrier became president of the Baptist Health Western Region in 2022, assuming responsibility for Baptist Health’s hospitals in both Fort Smith and Van Buren. A registered nurse, Carrier previously served as president and CEO of Centura Health in Kansas, as well as holding multiple leadership positions over a span of 12 years at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo.

Scott Snow Cooper Mercy Clinic Northwest Arkansas

Rogers

Scott Snow Cooper serves as president of Mercy Clinic in Northwest Arkansas. Prior to joining Mercy in 2014, Cooper spent 18 years as an independent orthopedic surgeon in Northwest Arkansas. He previously served as president of the Arkansas Orthopedic and Arkansas Medical societies and currently is the state’s representative to the Board of Councilors for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Sammie Cribbs

North Arkansas Regional Medical Center

Harrison

Sammie Cribbs was appointed president and CEO of North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in 2022. Cribbs was previously named chief nursing officer in 2014, as well as vice president of Clinical Services and chief nursing officer in 2016. She joined the hospital in 2007 and has served in leadership roles since 2011.

Marcy Doderer

Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Little Rock

Marcy Doderer was named president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s, the state’s only pediatric health system, in 2013. Prior to joining Arkansas Children’s, Doderer held various leadership positions at hospitals in Texas, including at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System in San Antonio, CHRISTUS St. Joseph’s Health System and McCuistion Regional Medical Center in Paris and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

Ryan Gehrig

Mercy Hospital

Fort Smith

Ryan Gehrig is the president of Mercy Arkansas Communities, where he leads all of the Mercy hospitals across the state. Gehrig joined Mercy in 2012 as the president of Mercy Hospital Fort Smith. He previously served as vice president of enterprise systems and chief administrative officer at Moore Medical Center in Norman, Okla., and as chief operating officer of Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Robert “Bob” Honeycutt

Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center

Russellville

Robert “Bob” Honeycutt joined Saint Mary’s Regional Health System as CEO in 2020. Honeycutt previously served as CEO at Ennis Regional Medical Center in Ennis, Texas and Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia, Texas. He has held numerous leadership roles at hospitals across Arizona, Texas and Tennessee, among others.

Michelle W. Krause, MD

UAMS Medical Center

Little Rock

Michelle W. Krause was named CEO of UAMS Medical Center and senior vice chancellor of UAMS Health in 2023, having held in both roles on an interim basis since 2022. Krause has been with UAMS since 2002 and most recently served as chief clinical officer. She previously held numerous administrative positions, including ambulatory medical director, vice chair for clinical programs of the department of internal medicine and director of the integrated medicine service line.

Sam Lynd

NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital

Jonesboro

Sam Lynd was named administrator and CEO of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in 2020. Lynd previously served as COO for Baptist Memorial Hospital - Memphis and administrator of Baptist’s emergency services system wide. Lynd joined the Baptist Memorial Health Care system in 2011 and previously served as CEO of Baptist Memorial HospitalTipton in Covington, Tennessee in 2014.

Rick Naegler

Northwest Medical Center

Springdale

Rick Naegler was named market CEO of Northwest Health and CEO of Northwest Medical Center - Springdale in 2023. Naegler joined Northwest Health from Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo, where he was CEO. He was previously CEO and chief nursing officer of Lake City Medical Center in Lake City, Fla., and has served as chief nursing officer at other hospitals in Florida and Texas.

Gary Paxson

White River Health

Batesville

Gary Paxson, RN, BSN, MS, FACHE, is the president and CEO for White River Health. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the Board of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care and the Arkansas Hospital Association. He is also a member of the Lyon College Board of Visitors, where he serves as chair of the Finance Committee. He also sits on the Arkansas Health Executives Forum board.

Mike Perkins

Baptist Health Medical Center

Little Rock

Mike Perkins is president of Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, with additional oversight for Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute, Baptist Health Extended Care Hospital and Baptist Health College Little Rock. Perkins has been with Baptist Health for over three decades in various positions, including president of the North Little Rock medical center and vice president and administrator of Baptist Health’s rehabilitation institute and extended care hospital.

Ron Peterson

Baxter Health Mountain Home

Ron Peterson is president and CEO of Baxter Health, formerly Baxter Regional Medical Center, and has served in that capacity since 2007. Previously, Peterson served as president and CEO of Regional Medical Center, a division of Trover Health System in Madisonville, Ky.

Doug Ross, MD

CHI

St. Vincent Hot Springs

Hot Springs

Doug Ross, MD became president of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs in 2019 and has also served as senior vice president and chief medical officer since 2018. He was previously CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs’ vice president of medical affairs. Ross joined the hospital in 2003 as an emergency medicine physician when it was Mercy Hot Springs. His former roles include chief of staff, medical director of informatics and medical director of the emergency department.

James Scoggins

Arkansas State Hospital

Little Rock

James Scoggins has served as CEO of the Arkansas State Hospital, the only state-operated acute psychiatric inpatient hospital, since 2019. He has held various leadership roles since joining the hospital in 1997, including director of utilization review, director of admissions and chief nursing officer.

Margie A. Scott, MD Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Little Rock

Margie A. Scott was appointed director of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in 2016. Scott has previously served in a number of positions across the health care system, including laboratory director, chief of pathology and laboratory medicine service, chief of staff and interim medical center director. Before her appointment to CAVHS, Scott served as the faculty and clinical laboratory director at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

J. Larry Shackelford

Washington Regional Medical Center

Fayetteville

J. Larry Shackelford was named president and CEO of Washington Regional in 2017. Shackelford joined Washington Regional in 2010 and served as vice president of strategy and outreach before assuming his current role. Before coming to Washington Regional, Shackelford was CEO of Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas and worked for the accounting firm Baird, Kurtz and Dobson.

Scott Smith

National Park Medical Center

Hot Springs

Scott Smith has served as CEO of National Park Medical Center since 2020. Smith also serves in the expanded leadership position of market CEO; he oversees both National Park Medical Center and Saline Memorial Hospital, which are both LifePoint Health facilities. Prior to joining National Park Medical Center, Smith was CEO of Western Plains Medical Complex in Dodge City, Kan. He has been part of LifePoint Health since 2006.

Michael Stewart

Saline Memorial Hospital

Benton

Michael Stewart has served as CEO of Saline Health System since 2018. Prior to joining Saline Health System, Stewart had been CEO of Navarro Regional Hospital in Corsicana, Texas, since 2014. Stewart previously served as COO and administrator for Northwest Health System in Springdale and spent seven years in various hospital leadership roles in California and Florida.

Danna Wagnon Taylor

South Arkansas Regional Hospital

El Dorado

Danna Wagnon Taylor is the interim president of South Arkansas Regional Hospital, formerly the Medical Center of South Arkansas, as the hospital transitions to its new status as a locally governed nonprofit hospital this year. Taylor previously served in other leadership roles at the Medical Center of South Arkansas, including chief quality officer and vice president of operations.

Brian Thomas

Jefferson Regional Medical Center

Pine Bluff

Brian Thomas has served as president and CEO of Jefferson Regional Medical Center since 2017. Thomas first joined Jefferson Regional in 1998 as the director of physician practices and operations support; he then went on to hold various leadership positions at other hospitals, including Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Arkansas, J.F.K. Memorial Hospital in Indio, California and Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Matt Troup

Conway Regional Health System

Conway

Matt Troup is the president and CEO of Conway Regional Health System. Troup has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in the health care industry and has held various administrative roles at hospitals in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. Before joining Conway Regional in 2015, Troup served as vice president of ancillary and support services at CHI St. Vincent.

Cody Walker

Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock

North Little Rock

Cody Walker is president of Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock. Walker previously served as vice president of hospital operations at the Little Rock medical center. Before joining Baptist Health in 2020, Walker held various titles at Brookwood Baptist Health in Birmingham, Ala., including market administrator, interim COO and associate administrator.