Vicksburg internist Dr. Dan Edney, president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, and State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier will present the Annual Public Health Report Card at a press conference Thursday at the State Capitol in Jackson.

“The report card is presented every year,” said MSMA spokeswoman Kristen Lucas. “It is a report on the state of health in Mississippi and sets goals for improving health during the year.”

A joint collaboration by the Mississippi State Medical Association and the Mississippi State Department of Health, the report evaluates the health of Mississippians and the adequacy of programs to meet and improve the health needs of its population.

Its presentation at the press conference is in conjunction with the 11th Annual Capitol Screening Initiative sponsored by the MSMA Alliance, which offers free health screenings to legislators and Capitol staff.

Edney, an internist with Medical Associates of Vicksburg, became the medical association’s 148th president Aug. 12.

He is an expert in medical readiness for international disasters, and has volunteered for medical missions in Vicksburg and around the world.

A graduate of William Carey College in Hattiesburg and the University of Mississippi Medical School, Edney completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Hospitals in Charlottesville, Va. and started his practice in Vicksburg in 1991.

He is the host of an online health radio show, “On Call with Dr. Dan Edney,” and the medical director of First Baptist Church of Vicksburg’s Medical/Dental Ministries.