Honoring Dr. John Darroch

The institute is proud to bear the name of the late Dr. John Darroch, Modesto’s first neurosurgeon and one of the greatest physicians to call this region home.

Dr. Darroch was born November 18, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He attended Dalhousie Medical School in Nova Scotia, then pursued graduate study and residency at the University of California, San Francisco.

He came to Modesto in 1965, establishing the city’s first neurosurgery practice at Doctors Medical Center. Dr. Darroch later became Chief of Staff at the hospital.

Though Dr. Darroch’s astounding hands made him an incredible surgeon, it was his exceptional heart that made him a beloved doctor. He was one of Modesto’s most popular physicians ever, renowned for his integrity and outstanding sense of humor.

Dr. Darroch passed in 1998, at the hospital he called home for so many years — Doctors Medical Center. We miss him daily, and honor his legacy with the name of our Darroch Brain & Spine Institute.