Athanassios Petrotos

Medical Director for Trauma

Greenwich Hospital

As a surgeon, Dr. Petrotos takes more overtime calls than anyone in the department, despite being the most senior member. He is seen as a mentor to the younger surgeons. His constant thirst for knowledge and collaboration is what makes him a valuable resource as an assistant clinical professor in Surgery at Yale University. He pays immense attention to order, process, and structure and is a role model for all those who know him.

Greenwich Hospital hosted a community event celebrating its Level III Trauma Center status on a Sunday this past June, and Dr. Petrotos was on site, manning an information table and showing members of the community how to properly apply a tourniquet. He did this for three hours in nearly 100-degree weather after administering dozens of free hernia screenings for the members of the community at the hospital the day before.

More recently, Dr. Petrotos performed a challenging procedure on a critically injured patient. He is the only reason the patient is alive, although he credited the entire team for their efforts.

Even when he is not on call, Dr. Petrotos consistently checks in on his patients. One of his patients recently underwent a CT scan when Dr. Petrotos was not on site. Even with a prior engagement, Dr. Petrotos knew the results of the scan before anyone and called the doctor who was treating the patient to discuss action plans. Greenwich Hospital Chief Medical Officer Karen Santucci, MD, says she has never seen anyone so invested in care.

He is described by his colleagues as not self-promoting and someone who never exalts himself, but rather always elevates all those around him, and is the epitome of being a true servant leader and role model. Dr. Petrotos has been a hero to us all for years, and this year, he truly shone!

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