It’s a story that has been replicated multiple times over the course of the years. Coincidental travelers who happen onto Michigan’s Great Southwest in the course of their business or leisure travel discover what a remarkable place it is that we who live here already know.
After routinely making their way from Plymouth and Rochester, Indiana to studies at Ferris State University and other destinations north of us, Dr. Clayton Cashen and his wife Erin increasingly fell in love with the Lake Michigan shore neighborhoods of St. Joseph, Stevensville and surrounding areas. As Dr. Cashen worked to advance his optometric studies and eventual career, the couple kept gravitating to the desire to some day make this their home.
That some day came this spring when, after searching the Midwest for the ideal practice, Dr. Cashen struck a deal with Dr. Robert Reed to take over All Eyes in the Southtown neighborhood of St. Joseph.
Dr. Cashen tells me that he grew up on a dairy farm around Plymouth and while he learned the ethics of hard work, he decided he wanted a different life and joined the Navy after high school graduation. During his five year service stint in the Navy he learned how to be a surgical technician, specifically in the realm of eye surgery.
After moving from one coast to the other, going from a year and a half in San Diego to a four year run in Newport, Rhode Island, Cashen determined that “the people with the best demeanor and outlook on life were right here in the Midwest.” His work with optometrists turned into solid advice to return to school and get into the business himself. He completed his undergrad work at Ferris State, and completed his education at Ohio State University before working his way back home to the Rochester neighborhood, where he worked for eight years with Midwest Eye Consultants.
Over the past several years he looked at practices in Crown Point and Fort Wayne before learning that Dr. Reed had enlisted national brokers to find a partner before retiring from the industry himself. Instead, he and Dr. Cashen hooked up and Cashen bought the business outright back in May with a contractual agreement to keep Dr. Reed on for at least one transition year and the hopes of considering a 3 to 5 year deal beyond.
Reed launched the business nearly 40 years ago in 1980 and first established the operation near Lambrecht’s Liquors on Niles Avenue, before relocating to the new strip center development at 2047 Niles Road in 1996, a place it has held court ever since.
Reed continues to see patients every Thursday and handles some administrative work at other times of the week, while Cashen’s wife, Erin, is taking over management of the practice. That frees up Dr. Cashen to see patients, his true labor of love.
Clayton’s philosophy is that doctors should be seeing patients and their focus should be on the patient, including every patient that comes in. His goal is to have the full complement of doctors including himself, and Drs. Reed and Campbell spending the majority of their time with patients while others handle administration and operational issues. He adds, “I want patients to feel they’re getting best exam possible.”
Erin Cashen also works as a compliance officer for Cardinal Health, a major national supply company to most hospitals in the country. She also brings office manager experience at more than one dental office to the table.
The two have a grown son going off to Siena Heights College and a daughter who will be a sophomore at Lakeshore High School this fall. The entire family plays volleyball, and in fact, Erin coached high school volleyball for Rochester, winners of semi state titles for the last four years running.
Cashen says, “As we would drive through the area all the time, we discovered what a great place this is, and we’re glad to be here for sure,” adding, “We’re really excited to be a part of the community.”
