It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the sudden and unexpected passing of Joseph Hyrum Childs, M.D. He is the father of four wonderful children with his wife, Autumn. He was also co-owner of Wesson and Mothershed Eye Center and Bishop of the Tupelo Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, patients, coworkers and employees. A humble disciple of Jesus Christ, to the end he was a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. Heaven’s gain is a painful and shocking loss for all of us. We are truly blessed to have had him as part of our work family.
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Dr. Childs is Tupelo’s only fellowship-trained glaucoma specialist and surgeon. He is a native of Texas, and his wife was born and raised in Mississippi. In turn, Dr. Childs fell in love with Mississippi and the people here. Dr. Childs worked at a busy practice in south Mississippi for five years before joining the doctors and Wesson and Mothershed Eye Center in 2020. He is excited to live and practice in Tupelo, serving the people of northeast Mississippi. Dr. Childs attended college for two years at Brigham Young University in Idaho, and he graduated Cum Laude from Texas A&M University as a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He went on to earn his medical degree from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, graduated at the top of his class, and elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Dr. Childs completed a surgical internship and ophthalmology residency at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. During this time, he received multiple awards and recognitions. These include being selected as chief resident and receiving the ‘best resident teacher’ award. He also received numerous awards for research excellence, including the Charles C. Barr award. Dr. Childs also completed his fellowship training in glaucoma at the University of Kentucky. He was made clinical instructor during this time. Dr. Childs has authored and participated in several research papers and projects over the years. Due to his extra training, Dr. Childs is an excellent cataract surgeon and specially trained to care for glaucoma patients. Along with Dr. Miles, he specializes in vision restoration and preservation, offering cataract removal procedures and lens implantation, which includes implantations of standard, toric (astigmatism correcting), and premium lenses. He specializes in glaucoma treatments at the time of cataract removal. Dr. Childs is highly experienced in performing all conventional glaucoma procedures and also offers an array of laser and minimally invasive glaucoma procedures and techniques to help stop or slow the progression of vision loss by reducing the eye pressure and, for many, decreasing medical dependency on eye drops. He is up to date on all the recent and emerging medical, laser, and surgical treatments for glaucoma. In 2019, Dr. Childs was selected as one of Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 50 under 40 business leaders and voted a “top 10 finalist” within that group. He is highly involved with his church and has served and continues to serve in various leadership and teaching positions. Dr. Childs is an Eagle Scout. He is fluent in Spanish as a second language. He served as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for two years (2000-2002) in the western Santiago, Chile area. Dr. Childs loves to spend time with his wife and four children, including attending their various sporting events. During his spare time, he enjoys spending additional time with them outdoors, fishing, and hiking. He is also passionate about landscaping and gardening. Dr. Childs is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Glaucoma Society, and the American Academy of Refractive and Cataract Surgeons. Dr. Childs is board certified by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.