Curtis G. Hames Sr, MD the Physician

Dr. Curtis G. Hames, Sr. graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1944 and began clinical practice in his home town of Claxton, Georgia in 1947. Dr. Hames' personal creed during his 40-year medical career was "A true physician should bring to the suffering patient a quiet sense of humility, dignity, confidence and security based upon the conviction that all will be done that can be done."

His commitment to patients led to the development of an accessible and dynamic practice where he personally saw as many as 50 patients in a day that led to excellent rapport with the community he served. While providing care to the residents of Evans County and surrounding communities, Dr. Hames observed that his black patients, although experiencing a higher rate of hypertension, appeared to have lower rates of coronary artery disease when compared to his white patients.

Dr. Hames sought support to explore, validate and explain his observations. In 1957, the National Institutes of Health, through suggestions by Dr. James Watt , head of National Heart Institute (now called the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute), and Dr. Paul Dudley White, NHI advisor, expanded its research focus to include community-based projects exploring the incidence of heart disease. Dr. Hames realized that his observations could be studied within this new NIH focus, which prompted him to apply for and receive NIH funding and as a principal investigator participated in the evaluation of cardiovascular disease in the ethnically diverse community of Evans County from 1958 - 1995.

Although Dr. Hames' observations and subsequent research led to worldwide recognition and collaboration from the scientific community, he still considered himself a country physician who genuinely cared about his patients and was extremely uncomfortable when away from his practice and patients for extended periods.

...CURTIS G. HAMES, SR., M.D. THE SCHOLAR
...CURTIS G. HAMES, SR., M.D. THE HUMANITARIAN

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.