Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture
Long before she attended medical school or saw her first patient, Dr. Taylor Hairston knew which career path she was destined to pursue.
“My youngest sister was born with a terminal illness. I assisted with her care and attended her appointments to learn more about her condition,” the Gulfport-raised physician recalls. “I met so many wonderful providers who helped our family during that difficult time and was inspired to do this for others.”
Now a primary care and family medicine doctor at Ochsner Health Center – Gulfport, Hairston considers preventative medicine a cornerstone of her job. This includes evaluating risk factors for disease, completing labs and imaging and keeping up with cancer screenings.
“A miracle to me,” she says, “is when I can help a patient complete these screenings and discover a condition that, with proper treatment, can be remedied before (it causes) enduring harm.”
CREATING CONNECTIONS
Hairston’s desire to help others led her to Mississippi State University, where she continued a family tradition by earning a chemical engineering degree. When she graduated from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2020, the world was gripped by a deadly pandemic — and protective measures made it much harder to put patients at ease.
“Only in the third year of residency could we treat patients with an encouraging smile or demonstrate visual empathy,” Hairston recalls. “In those early years, I had to learn techniques to connect with patients and earn their trust despite the barriers.”
Ultimately, the skills she developed during that time helped her establish stronger relationships with her patients. That ability has served her well in her hometown, where she settled three years ago alongside her husband, Dr. Michael McLarty.
JUGGLING MEDICINE AND MOTHERHOOD
The couple welcomed twin girls earlier this year, and the doctor’s days have changed drastically as she juggles parenthood and a professional responsibility. She’s up early, preparing her daughters for the day, and there’s little time for leisure between her two roles — although she tries to squeeze in exercise and a family dinner.
“Every minute counts, so planning and partnership with my husband matters a great deal,” Hairston says. “Spending quality time with my girls is very important to me. Even with help from family members, we are a very busy family.”
Challenges are inevitable, and like any professional, Hairston must be satisfied knowing that she gave her very best — celebrating wins and learning from mistakes.
“The most difficult day is when the time commitments of motherhood collide with the challenges of practicing medicine,” she says. “On those days, we must each depend on faith, marital and family support to find encouragement and resilience.”
‘I WANT TO HELP AS MANY FAMILIES AS I CAN’
Hairston counts persistence among her most valuable attributes, and she strives to offer everything at her disposal to help her patients — whether that’s vaccines, imaging, labs or expert advice. The earlier and more often patients come in, she points out, the more likely doctors will identify their risk factors or detect diseases in the early stages, when they are most treatable.
“If there is something I know they are due for, I try to be gentle but persistent in guiding a patient to appropriate treatment or diagnosis, even when the patient initially declines,” Hairston says. “There is always a possibility that today could be the day for a more open mind.”
Anxiety surrounding doctor appointments is understandable, she acknowledges, as people worry
about hearing bad news. But she adds that most visits yield good reports, whether about general health or how well a treatment is working.
If she could convince her patients to do anything, Hairston would urge them to complete all recommended cancer screenings and emphasize the importance of diet and exercise, which contribute greatly to overall health and can affect risk for numerous diseases.
“I know it can be scary to be on the patient side, especially if you have gone years without being evaluated,” she says. “It is so important to be checked on a regular basis so we can find things that are creeping towards a problem. Physicians greatly enjoy helping patients make changes to improve their outcomes.”
EVOLVING TOOLS, ENDURING PURPOSE
Of all the advances she’s seen in her field, Hairston says the biggest have been in cancer screenings — both the tests that are available and the age groups for which they are recommended.
“We hope to get better at our screening tools and offer these to as many patients as we can to fight preventable illnesses,” she says. “We continue to look into new tests as they become available and compare them to our current ones to determine how best to provide these options to patients.”
Today, building lasting relationships is one of Hairston’s favorite aspects of her work. Through the demands of medicine and motherhood, she remains grounded in the same motivation that led her to the profession in the first place: family and service.
“I love my job and I love my patients,” she says. “I will continue to do the best I can to improve the health of my home community.”