Pitt chief information officer blazed trails

As chief information officer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mark T. Hopkins led the development of the health system's highly touted electronic information system and was named to ComputerWorld Magazine's list of "Premier 100 IT Leaders" last year.

Mr. Hopkins, who split his time between his home in downtown Pittsburgh and Baltimore, died of cancer on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007, at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. He was 47.

UPMC announced his death Monday and will hold a memorial service on Saturday in Shadyside. The funeral was held last week in Baltimore.

"He was the best, one in a million, he really was," said his mother, Marian D'Anna of Baltimore. "It just never ceased to amaze me how smart he was and what great ideas he had. He could really see the big picture as well as the tiniest detail."

Born in Baltimore and raised in Dallas, Mr. Hopkins was recruited to UPMC in 2001 from the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He helped to electronically link UPMC's 19 academic and community hospitals, creating an information system to support clinical care teams, business operation and patient care.

"His special approach to leadership affected everyone he worked with in his career," said Elizabeth Concordia, UPMC executive vice president. "While we will miss him tremendously, his innovative approach and contributions will live on for many years to come."

Mr. Hopkins enjoyed his career and was always up for a challenge, said Erik Foster of Dallas, a friend since high school.

"He had an incredible work ethic. He loved what he did -- everybody should have a passion like that," Foster said. "Mark was also a person of very high integrity. He was the type of person that if you needed something he would do it for you if there was any way possible that he could."

Mr. Hopkins was a role model to everyone in the family, said his younger half brother, Robert D'Anna of Vienna, Va.

"He was the rock of the family," D'Anna said. "My goal is really to ensure that his legacy lives on through my actions. That's my hope, because he meant so much to me and my family. I'll never let his memory be diminished."

UPMC will hold a memorial service at noon Saturday in the First Unitarian Church, 605 Morewood Ave. Immediately after the service, a reception will be held at the Herberman Conference Center at UPMC Shadyside, 5230 Centre Ave.

In addition to Mr. Hopkins' mother and brother, survivors include his wife of 23 years, Kimberly; son, Matthew, 17; daughter, Melissa, 12; brother, Michael Hopkins of Asheville, N.C.; and sister, Nancy Leggens of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mark T. Hopkins Fund at the Baltimore Community Foundation, 2 E. Read St., Baltimore, MD 21202.