To the Editor:
Others have testified to Frank Avantaggio’s contributions to the community and the hospital, and they were immense; and to his surgical skills, which were formidable.
I would add his availability and accessibility to his patients and colleagues. Many were the times when we would seek his counsel for the management of our patients who might require his surgical skills at a time when he was the only general surgeon on our hospital staff. The support of his experience and wisdom were a comfort to patient and physician. He was a doctor’s doctor!
Frank, the bibliophile, seemed to keep a record of his customer’s literary interests and collections. He would call and hold a volume of Chekhov, Francis Parkman, or Wilfred Grenfell that he knew might be of interest to me.
With his skills and training he could have had a successful career just about anywhere. That he chose this community and hospital was a great gift.
