Page 116 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2016

ALL IN THE
FAMILY
a family affair
The Adams physicians
have the right medicine for you
story by Lisa Kröger photos by Linda Ferrill and courtesy of Adams Family
Nearly everyone would like to have a doctor in the family — the Adams family has three.
Dr. Hans W. Adams has been practicing gastroenterology in Gulfport for more than three decades. His wife, Beth Adams,
has also been in the medical field, as a medical social worker. The doctor met his wife in Georgia, where he attended the Medical College of Georgia, before settling
on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, when he opened the Gastroenterology Center with three other doctors. “When I started training, it was one of the first specialties,” Dr. Hans Adams said, “and what interested me was the technology
of the endoscopes. They were so fascinating. You could look into someone and do things. You can see what is going on inside.”
His passion transferred to his youngest son, Andrew, who knew he wanted to be a doctor at a young age after watching his father. Andrew was raised on the Gulf Coast, attending St. John High School, along with his siblings, Hans Jr., a lawyer, and Lisa, a chef.
“Andrew was all-state tackle at St. John. He was Phi Beta
Kappa at Millsaps College, which, at the time, was the first chapter in the state,” said Dr. Hans Adams, obviously a proud father.
“As you can see, he likes to embarrass me,” laughed his son.
The family is now growing by one more, when Dr. Andrew Adams marries Joanna Bayles, who is, of course, a doctor too.
The match is a natural one. “My dad is also a physician in family medicine, and I wanted to be like my dad when I was growing up,” said Dr. Bayles. “I knew pretty early on that I wanted to do family medicine because I like the variety.”
Dr. Bayles attended Georgia Tech, a rival school to Dr. Hans Adams’s alma mater, something the younger Dr. Adams likes to tease his father about. “It’s my way of getting back at the old man,” he said.
Following medical school in Georgia, Dr. Bayles moved to Mississippi for her residency. Here, she met Andrew and the rest is history — the proposal was a surprise before a date to see the latest Star Wars movie, all while dressed as Han and Leia from The Empire Strikes Back.
116 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • June 2016
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