Rajagopala Rao Tripuraneni, MD, longtime leader of the emergency department at University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, has retired.
Dr. Rao, as his patients and colleagues call him, joined Harford Memorial in 1978. He served as a full-time attending physician in the ED at the hospital as well as medical director of the ED from 1996 to 2012. He was also Harford County EMS medical director for 27 years and medical director for the Chesapeake Health Initiative Program at Perry Point (Md.) VA Hospital.
"Dr. Rao has been an invaluable team member for the past 42 years. His knowledge and experience in the Emergency Department are second to none," Lyle E. Sheldon, president and CEO of University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, said. "Patients received excellent care from Dr. Rao, and he mentored many doctors over the years. We thank him for all he did to improve health care in Harford County and wish him a long and enjoyable retirement."
The hospital estimates that Dr. Rao treated nearly180,000 patients in the Harford Memorial emergency department during his tenure there.
In retirement, Dr. Rao said he plans to volunteer with EMS in Harford County.