Courtesy of Kelly Cole From right to left: Dr. Shantonu Ghosh, Dr. Karai Balaji, Dr. Robert Hayes, Dr. Richard Collins. Behind them starting from the left is Cathy Peri, Susan Lown, Linda Fedrau, Connie Ryan, Susan Salter, Jamie Calway, Jan Irwin, Susan Jischke Eberwein and June McAllister. Photo courtesy of Kelly Cole.

AVON, NY — The Avon community honored four of its physicians during an evening reception at the Commons Community Center.

The event, organized by the Avon Chamber of Commerce, was attended by the honorees, Dr. Richard Collins, Dr. Robert Hayes, Dr. Shantonu Ghosh and Dr. Karai Balaji and more than 160 people from Avon.

Chamber president Kelly Cole presented each of the physicians with a bronze plaque expressing the gratitude of the community for their years of service. The inscription read, “for your caring commitment to the community of Avon, and the compassionate care you have given to your patients and their families.”

Steve Goldstein, CEO of Strong and Highland Hospitals, acknowledged the physicians as outstanding caregivers and complimented Avon for its unusual tribute to its doctors.

The four physicians are associated with a common office which has been providing care to patients continuously since 1913, the year Dr. George Collins, father of Dr. Richard Collins, established his practice in Avon.

“It was Dr. George Collins who made the mold,” Cole said, adding, “Dr. Balaji and Dr. Ghosh had big shoes to fill and they have done so admirably. For their part, these doctors found we have a close-knit community where everyone gets along well and has a lot of fun.”

It started in 1913

Dr. Richard Collins related the story of his father coming to Avon.

A native of Austin, Pennsylvania, George Collins, as a young doctor recently graduated from St. Bonaventure and the University of Buffalo, was considering his employment options. He happened to be passing though Avon on his way to check out an offer in Palmyra in the year 1913. Dr. Collins made what he intended would be a brief stop in Avon to visit his uncle, who was a superintendent of the Erie Railroad. He found himself subject to a sales pitch from his uncle, the local priest, and other citizens of influence, who convinced him that Avon needed a new doctor.

George Collins’ first office was in a residence opposite the Avon Inn, where the practice occupied a single room. After getting married, Dr. Collins moved to the house next door. There, the waiting room was the vestibule and the office was an upstairs bedroom.

The next move, necessitated by a growing family, was across Temple and Main streets: the large white house at 25 East Main, where Dr. Collins would practice many years. The couple had 12 children, Richard being the sixth, arriving in 1924.

In 1949, when Richard completed his training at Strong Hospital, he joined his father’s practice. Excepting for two years service in Korea, Richard practiced in Avon 45 years, until his retirement in 1994. He remains active on the Board of Directors of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Dr. George Collins never retired, practicing until the final hour of his life in 1955, when, at age 67, he succumbed to a heart attack.

“My father and I took care of Avon for all but one decade of the 20th Century,” Richard Collins noted.

“I know a lot of people here. It is a wonderful place to practice,” he added.

Dr. Collins and his wife Mary have five children.

“A doctor’s wife was the backbone of the practice,” he confided. “Often she was the one to give advice until they could get a hold of me.”

Two of the children, Tim and Mike, are themselves physicians, as are two grandchildren. Daughters Katie and Molly both work in Washington, one with the American Hospital Association and one as a nurse in a private school. Youngest son Bernie is an actor in Paris.

Dr. Richard Collins was joined by Dr. Robert Hayes as a partner in practice in 1960.

Robert Hayes was a Rochester native who had attended the University of Rochester as both an undergraduate and medical student.

He explains how he came to Avon:

“I married a girl from Avon.” [who was Dr. Collin’s sister]. She was studying to be a nurse. We met as anatomy partners.”

“Polly’s brother was in practice here. He needed a partner, so she recruited me.”

Robert graduated in 1957 and married Polly in 1958. He began practicing in Avon with Dr. Collins in 1960 at the traditional 25 East Main Street office, where Dr. Hayes lives today. In 1962 the practice was relocated to an office on Clinton Street. Dr. Hayes retired in 2000.

“It was a good decision to come to Avon. It’s a good place to raise children. I enjoyed my practice and made a lot of friends,” Dr. Hayes said. Two of Dr. Hayes’ sons are well known to County News readers. Rob is a Village of Avon trustee who has recently opened a financial consulting business. Tim is superintendent of Geneseo Central School.

Dr. Balaji did medical training in India, then spent five years in England. Coming to the United States, he was following in the footsteps of his brother, who works for Xerox. Finishing his residency at Highland Hospital in 1996, Dr. Balaji went to work with Dr. Hayes. Today he practices at 470 Collins Street.

Like his predecessors, Dr. Balaji is now on a first name basis with many, many patients from Avon and the surrounding towns. He and wife Revathi have two children, ages 13 and 8.

Dr. Ghosh was married in India and worked in England before coming to the United States. His residency was at Highland Hospital. As an acquaintance of Dr. Hayes, he was steered toward the vacancy in Avon which was coming open with Dr. Hayes’ retirement in 2000.

“I cannot say I was totally decided about my future when I came to Avon, but once I started here I developed a sense of belonging,” Dr. Ghosh said. “I look upon the people here as my extended family. Over the years it has been very gratifying for me.”

Dr. Ghosh and his wife Raka have one daughter.

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