Mark Hawk, MD
Neurosurgical Services Excellence
“The underlying drive for me is that we deliver state-of-the-art neurosurgery to KP members in Northern California.”
When he came to KP Sacramento in 2002, Dr. Hawk envisioned a world-class department with expertise spanning the breadth of neurosurgery. Appointed Chief of Neurosurgery in 2004, he began turning his vision into reality by recruiting the best subspecialists in vascular neurosurgery, skull-based surgery, neuro-oncologic surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, endoscopic brain surgery, complex spine surgery and deep brain stimulation. He also built neurointerventional radiology and stereotactic radiosurgery capabilities to provide minimally invasive procedures.
Dr. Hawk then developed a neurosurgical service at South Sacramento, which was a critical component of the medical center becoming a Level II trauma center, a designation he helped secure in 2009. Next, he established a pediatric neurosurgery department in Roseville, to complement the array of other pediatric subspecialties at Roseville’s women and children’s center, and he helped the department achieve California Children’s Services accreditation for pediatric neurosurgery.
Looking beyond the North Valley, Dr. Hawk helped Fresno establish a neurosurgery department, so the facility could internalize neurosurgery services for patients. Most recently, he has been working to establish a neurosurgery department at Vacaville, and assisting with efforts to obtain Level II trauma designation for that medical center.
Reflecting on these accomplishments, Dr. Hawk notes, “I didn’t build the world-class neurosurgery program we now have in place – it was built by a whole team of talented people. I may have provided the spark, but now the program evolves and develops on its own in positive ways, which is very rewarding for me to see happen.”