Meet the Champion: Dr. Ashley Ross, Holder of the Walmart Endowed Chair in Neonatology

Dr. Ross was an early champion of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Nursery Alliance, a statewide collaborative of delivery hospitals focused on improving outcomes for all neonates and reducing Arkansas's infant mortality rate. He routinely travels the state to promote this strategic initiative. According to his team, his passion and positive energy are contagious.

Dr. Ross graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2000.  He completed his pediatric residency training at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem in 2003. He completed a Neonatology fellowship at UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital in 2006 and then accepted an appointment in the UAMS College of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Neonatology. 

In 2008, he assumed the role of Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Director until 2015. He was recognized with the Residency Educator of the Year Award in 2011 for his work with the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program at UAMS and ACH.  He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2012. 

Dr. Ross was honored with the Chris Hackler Award for Excellence in Medical Ethics at UAMS in 2013.  He was named the Neonatology Section Chief at UAMS and ACH in 2017. He is the 2019 recipient of the Ruth Olive Beall Award, the highest honor given by Arkansas Children's to physician leaders. 

Dr. Ross has been married for almost 22 years to his wife, Matty, and they have four children, Corissa 17, Davis, 17, Amelia 13, and Lila Jane 10.

Learn more about this inspirational Champion for Children in this video.

Why Are Endowments Important?

Walmart and Sam's Club associates share the basic belief that every child deserves a chance to live better. Since 1987, they have supported pediatric healthcare raising more than $1 billion for the 170 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in North America. Walmart established the Endowed Chair in Neonatology at ACH, a founding member of Children's Miracle Network.

Thanks to the generosity of Walmart, Sam’s Club, their dedicated associates and their compassionate customers, the funds raised support our tiniest and most critical patients at ACH.

Endowed chairs provide Arkansas Children’s and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences the ability to recruit top leaders in the medical field who can provide the best care for patients. An endowed chair or professorship remains one of the highest honors that the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s can bestow on its most distinguished physicians. Those named to a chair are among the most highly regarded scientists, practitioners and professors in their fields. For more information on how you can champion children with a gift, visit the Arkansas Children's Foundation website.