ACNW Names Healthcare Leader and Endocrinologist Dr. Ryan McDonough as Chief Medical Officer

SPRINGDALE, AR. (March 13, 2025) – Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) has appointed healthcare leader and endocrinologist Ryan McDonough, D.O., FAAP, as its new chief medical officer. Dr. McDonough will join the ACNW team this spring, bringing extensive experience in pediatric endocrinology, clinical informatics and healthcare leadership.

Dr. McDonough comes to ACNW from Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Mo., where he served as chief medical informatics officer and senior medical director, while also holding the position of co-medical director of the Children’s Diabetes Center and treating patients as an endocrinologist. His leadership resulted in significant advancements in diabetes care, including the transition to outpatient new-onset diabetes education, helping families adjust without requiring disruptive overnight stays in the hospital.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. McDonough to Arkansas Children’s Northwest,” said Rustin Morse, M.D., senior vice president and chief administrator for ACNW. “His expertise and passion for patient-centered care will be invaluable as we continue to advance pediatric care in Northwest Arkansas.”

A nationally recognized leader in diabetes care, Dr. McDonough has held key positions with the American Diabetes Association, the Diabetes Education & Camping Association, and Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet.

He is triple board-certified in general pediatrics, pediatric endocrinology and diabetes, and clinical informatics. He earned a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Des Moines University in Iowa and served a residency and post-graduate training at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Mo.

He succeeds Dr. Rob Williams, who joined the Arkansas Children’s system to help open ACNW’s doors in 2018 and has returned to full-time clinical practice in the hospital’s emergency department.

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S

Arkansas Children's is the only health care system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 850,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2024-2025): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Neonatal Care, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology & Lung Surgery. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a Level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 25-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.

###