Thad F. Waites, MD, MACC, Honored with 2024 Hub Award
In a ceremony held on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, Thad F. Waites, MD, MACC, along with Deborah Gambrell Chambers, received the prestigious 2024 Hub Award.
The Hub Award, an annual tradition established in 1979, honors individuals whose contributions to the community, commitment to excellence and dedication to public service have made a lasting impact. The award originated when local leaders recognized Bobby Lee Chain, then-president of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, for his dedication to community service and education. Since then, the award has celebrated outstanding citizens and supported higher education in Mississippi. Through the Hub Award Endowment at the Pinebelt Foundation, the initiative provides scholarships to students at The University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University, with total funds now exceeding $500,000.
As a dedicated cardiologist with Hattiesburg Clinic Heart & Vascular, Dr. Waites has served the Hattiesburg community since 1987. His contributions to Hattiesburg Clinic include over a decade on its Board of Trustees, where he held several years as vice president. Today, Waites leads imaging and diagnostic services at Heart & Vascular, bringing unparalleled expertise and compassion to his work with patients.
Waites’s influence also extends statewide. As Chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Health, he advocates for public health initiatives that benefit residents across Mississippi. He also remains active with professional organizations, including the American Heart Association, the Mississippi State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. In 2023, he was named the Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and has held multiple leadership roles, including chair of the ACC Health Affairs Committee, ACC board of governors, and Master of the ACC. Earlier this year, Waites was inducted into the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Medical Alumni Chapter Hall of Fame.
Born and raised in Waynesboro, Miss., Waites graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson in 1970. He completed his training with an internship at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Ga., a residency at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, Co., and a fellowship at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he served as Chief Resident. His early career included a faculty position at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans, where he met his late wife, Gerry. Together, they built a loving family that now includes children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Hattiesburg Clinic proudly celebrates this remarkable achievement with Dr. Waites, whose dedication embodies the clinic’s mission to provide quality care and improve lives. His contributions have enriched not only Hattiesburg Clinic but the entire Hattiesburg community and beyond.
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About Hattiesburg Clinic:
Hattiesburg Clinic is Mississippi’s largest privately-owned, multispecialty clinic. More than 60 years after its beginning, the clinic has grown to over 450 physicians and providers, caring for patients in more than 17 counties in South Mississippi. Along with over 2,500 professional staff employees, these physicians and providers come together for a common purpose, to serve the over 500,000 community members who live and work in South Mississippi every day.
