From Fertility to Obstetrics:
Dr. Jaye Adams and Dr. Tiffany Satterfield Focus on Women’s Health
By Rudy Arispe
Photography by David Teran
During her 22-year career as an OB/GYN, Dr. Jaye Adams was the proverbial “stork” who has brought countless bundles of joy to many happy couples, although she can’t put an exact number on how many babies she delivered.
“I stopped counting a few years into practice, but it’s probably about two thousand, although I no longer do deliveries,” she said.
Today, Dr. Adams continues to make dreams come true for hundreds of couples in a slightly different capacity by helping those who have trouble conceiving. She is a fertility physician and board-certified in reproductive endocrinology at the Fertility Center of San Antonio.
“I still take care of women and still do early obstetrics, but I now get to do family building and help people wanting to have a baby get pregnant,” Dr. Adams said. “That’s very rewarding.”
The Fertility Center of San Antonio was established by Dr. Joseph Martin more than 30 years ago. It was the first practice to offer office-based in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Texas and the first to achieve a pregnancy through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in the Southwest.
The Fertility Center also provides an on-site andrology and embryology laboratory, directed by their embryologist, Dr. Thomas Pool, which allows them to perform diagnostic and procedural lab work at the same location as a patient’s treatment. In 2005, they became the first Texas center to offer preimplantation genetic testing for monogenetic/single-gene diseases, PGT-M (formerly PGD), and embryo biopsy, and they continue to generate some of the highest success rates.
Since 2012, Dr. Adams has been counseling and treating couples with a variety of issues that prevent a woman from getting pregnant. Her patients, she said, are “those who have been trying for a year but can’t conceive, which is more common than people realize, affecting up to 10% of all couples who desire a pregnancy.”
“We find that 30 percent of the time it’s a female factor, 30 percent a male factor and 40 percent there’ a combination of factors with both, ranging from ovulatory dysfunction to low sperm count to uterine or tubal issues, as well as age-related, when couples delay until their late ‘30s, and the natural ability to get pregnant is declining.”
Still, there is help and hope, Dr. Adams advises. “If you’re having issues, we can provide a timely evaluation, help identify any problems that are correctable and hopefully shorten the time to get pregnant through a variety of treatments,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tiffany Satterfield, who joined Seven Oaks Women’s Center in 2009, recalled wanting to be a physician since childhood.
“I had this picture in my mind that I would carry a little, black bag and make house calls like they did on ‘Little House on the Prairie,’” she said with a laugh.
At Seven Oaks Women’s Center, Dr. Satterfield focuses on obstetrics and gynecology because of her love of providing health services to women. “I like taking care of women from adolescent to post menopausal, as well as delivering babies and gynecologic surgery,” she said. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Like Dr. Adams, Dr. Satterfield has found great joy in delivering babies. “It’s an amazing experience, and it’s crazy to think that you play a part in one of the most important days of a person’s life,” she explained. “You are an integral part of seeing someone expand their family, especially when it’s their first baby. We get to be there and celebrate.”
Seven Oaks Women’s Center provides the women of San Antonio with complete health care services, including routine gynecologist exams, pregnancy planning and prenatal care, among other services.
“Our group has been around for 25 years, and we have more than 100 years of combined medical practice among our physicians,” Dr. Satterfield said.
The Seven Oaks Women’s Center, as well as the Fertility Center of San Antonio, will move into the Oak Hills Women’s Pavilion. The 92,982-square-foot, 4-story medical office building is under construction and expected to be completed in fall 2022. It was financed by The Bank of San Antonio.
“When we contacted The Bank of San Antonio about our new Oaks Hills Women’s Pavillion, the bank was able to meet our requests regarding the type of financing we were looking for,” Dr. Satterfield said. “The bank responded quickly and worked with us on the terms that made us feel like they wanted to be a part of this project. As a physician-owned medical office building, it is nice to have a partner like The Bank of San Antonio to have their support and trust in us.”
Maria F. Breen, The Bank of San Antonio’s private banker for the project, said it was a joy to work with Oak Hills Women’s Pavilion. ”These are the types of projects that make my job rewarding. A strong partnership between our leadership at the bank and visionaries in our community has allowed us to better serve the women of San Antonio.”
Brandi Carberry – Vitier, Market Executive for The Bank of San Antonio, added, “Accelerating positive impact to women’s healthcare is something I’m passionate about, and I am inspired by these leaders for bringing their vision to life.”
