State Board of Health names Dr. Daniel P. Edney as new State Health Officer

by Will Stribling, Mississippi Today
May 25, 2022

The Mississippi State Board of Health announced Wednesday morning that Dr. Daniel P. Edney will be the new State Health Officer of the Mississippi State Department of Health. He will step into the new role on Aug. 1.

Edney was named deputy state health officer in March after the Department announced that current State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs would be retiring at the end of July. Prior to that appointment, Edney served as chief medical officer and has worked closely with Dobbs on the agency's COVID-19 response.

“Following in the footsteps of Dr. Dobbs, I, too, hope to serve as a catalyst for change – especially with infant and maternal mortality, the opioids battle plaguing the country right now, and moving the needle in preventive health and health equity issues,” Edney said in a press release. 

Edney, a native of Greenville, has practiced medicine in Vicksburg since 1991. He is a former president of the Mississippi State Medical Association and currently serves as a board member on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure. He has also served as a fellow and laureate for the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Edney is a board-certified General Internist with subspecialty board certification in Addiction Medicine. He has a private practice at Medical Associates of Vicksburg and has served as the medical director for several local nursing homes and hospice services, as well as the addiction medicine physician for several mental health facilities.

In the announcement, Dobbs praised Edney as a major asset to the health department, especially during the COVID pandemic.

“Among his various contributions, Dr. Edney worked with various organizations and partnerships to explain COVID and answer questions,” Dobbs said. “He has also worked with providers to sign them up to give COVID vaccine, and he fielded questions from providers about allergies and other complications related to the administration of the vaccine.”

WATCH: Mississippi Stories: Dan Edney

READ MORE: Dr. Daniel Edney debunks common vaccine myths

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.