Caroline Hawkins, MPH, BSN, RN, PHNA-BC

Caroline Hawkins is a board-certified Advanced Public Health Registered Nurse (PHNA-BC) with a Master of Public Health and over 17 years of progressive healthcare leadership experience spanning public health, behavioral health, and academic medical settings. She leads her team as Director of Nursing at The Recovery Village South Atlanta. 

Most recently serving as Senior Manager of Clinical Services and Operations at Emory Healthcare’s Brain Health Center, Caroline achieved a 98% first-year retention rate, maintained 100% compliance in safety and quality audits, and elevated systemwide compliance rates from 73% to 88%. As Chair of Emory’s Physician Division Falls Prevention Committee, she authored the organization’s first Ambulatory Fall Risk & Prevention Policy and led its enterprise-wide implementation.

Her executive experience includes serving as Chief Nursing Officer at two behavioral health hospitals, where she reduced medication errors to zero, improved staff satisfaction scores from 65% to 90%, and successfully navigated a Joint Commission survey with zero citations. Previously at the Georgia Department of Public Health, Caroline was appointed by the State Commissioner as the first nurse in Georgia to serve as Interim Deputy Director for a district health department, overseeing all public health programs and services, supervising 100+ employees, and managing over $20 million in federal and state funding.

Caroline holds a Master of Public Health from Walden University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Brenau University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Health. She maintains PHNA-BC certification and has completed Emory Healthcare’s Leadership Accelerate Program, the Advanced Nurse Leader Residency, and Lean Six-Sigma certification. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, and the American Association of Ambulatory Nurses.