The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selected Dr. Curtis G. Hames, Sr. as a fellow for the commitment to the health of his patients that led to insightful clinical observations, questions, resourcefulness and essential participation that initiated and sustained the Evans County Heart Study.
The MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, which consisted of a five-year $292,000 award in the fall of 1984 was provided to Dr. Hames to pursue his future creative research and scholarly interest without constraints. Dr. Hames used the resources provided by the fellowship to advance the development of research in family and community medicine.
He donated funds to the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Southern University for the innovative education of future health care professionals.
Dr. Hames also used the grant to advance primary care research on an international level by becoming one of the founding board members of the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network, a practice-based research network for the United States and Canada.
In 1981, Gerald Achenbach, then President and Chairman of Piggly Wiggly Southern Foundation, Inc. and other friends of Dr. Hames established the Curtis G. Hames Lectureship and Professorship Endowment at MCG, known currently as the Hames Research Chair of Family Medicine. The endowment provides resources to train family physicians and support Family and Community Medicine faculty research. The endowment initially sponsored the Hames Consortium, an annual meeting for developing new and innovative ideas for primary care research in primary care. Beginning in 1984, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine has hosted the annual Curtis G. Hames Research Award, sponsored by MCG’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. This award honors an individual whose academic career exemplifies dedication to research in family and community medicine. An exhibit on the Curtis G. Hames, Sr., M.D. Endowment is located in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
Dr. Hames has received numerous awards for his scientific contributions to include
honorary doctorate degrees from Emory University and the Medical University of South Carolina.
...CURTIS G. HAMES, SR., M.D. THE PHYSICIAN
...CURTIS G. HAMES, SR., M.D. THE SCHOLAR
For additional information on Dr. Hames, please visit the Curtis G. Hames, Sr., M.D. Papers, located in Historical Collections and Archives in the Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library. The Papers were used in the development of the Curtis G. Hames, Sr., M.D. exhibit. Other sources from which information was drawn include:
McDonough JR, Hames CG, Stulb SC, Garrison, GE. “Cardiovascular disease field study in Evans County, GA”, Public Health Rep 1963;78:1051-59.
McDonough JR, Hames CG, Stulb SC, Garrison, GE. “Coronary heart disease on Negros and whites Evans County, GA”, Journal of Chronic Disease 1965;18:443-68.
Hames CG (Introduction), Cassell JC (guest editor and author). “Evans county cardiovascular and cerebrovascular epidemiologic study”. Archives of Internal Medicine 1971;128(6):883-95.
Green LA, Hickner J. ”A short history of primary care practice-based research networks: From concept to essential research laboratories". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 2006;19(1):1-10.
