From Harford County government:
The Harford County Council named Panayiotis (Peter) L. Sitaras, M.D., a Harford Living Treasure. The Harford County Cultural Arts Board reviews the nominations and forwards it to the County Council for final approval. The Living Treasure program is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Board within the Department of Community Services and supported by the County Council
Harford County Public Library’s Living Treasures Oral History Project was created to preserve for future generations firsthand accounts of what life in Harford County has been like for previous generations. A collection of almost 300 oral histories collected from various Harford County Living Treasures can be found in the Bel Air Branch of the Harford County Public Library.
Dr. Sitaras was the first neurosurgeon to perform surgeries at Fallston General Hospital and Harford Memorial. He was on call 24 hours a day; 7 days a week for both ER’s since no other ER doctors could handle neurosurgical problems at that time. He served as Chief of Surgery, Chief of Neurosurgery and Chief of the Medical Staff as well as serving on many committees. Dr. Sitaras encouraged the use of the term “The Fallston Way” defined as treating all hospital staff, patients, etc. as if they were family. He treated many patients without collecting fees. Those who couldn’t pay paid in other ways, such as a bushel of apples, cedar wood, or a signed baseball. He served on the committee to raise funds to build Upper Chesapeake Hospital and eventually donated a patient room to the new hospital.
Dr. Sitaras is now retired and is greatly missed by his patients. He loves buying bushels of corn kernels and feeding geese on his pond even in the coldest winters. He now has time to serve as President of the Board at his church and sings in the church choir. Any county resident who has lived in Harford County for at least 40 years and is at least 70 years old is eligible to be nominated as a Harford Living Treasure. Nomination forms are available on the Harford County Public Library’s website at www.hcplonline.org.
Although Dr. Sitaris didn’t operate on me, he was instrumental in saving my life back in 2009. He worked with Dr. Dunn’s office to diagnose an MRI. Recognizing the urgency of his conclusions, he was instrumental in getting me operated on. Within two days I had brain surgery at JHU. Without that surgery I would have lost my vision, ability to speak, and other faculties. I had a 1% probability of a successful outcome. I participated in and finished a Warrior Dash in 2011. Thank you Dr. Sitaris and all others who helped.