J. Edward Hill, MD

J. Edward Hill, MD, became the 160th pesident of the American Medical Association (AMA) in June 2005. A family physician from Tupelo, Miss., he has been elected to the AMA Board of Trustees (BOT) three times, became its chair in 2002, and was elected president- elect in June 2004. A board-certified family physician, Dr. Hill began his professional career in the rural Mississippi Delta where he practiced for 27 years. In addition to running a full service family practice, Dr. Hill developed and directed a local maternal child health program that resulted in lowering the fetal mortality rate from one of the highest in the United States to below the national average. Due to his wealth of medical practice experience and recognition as a role model for young doctors, Dr. Hill was asked in January 1995, to become the director of the Family Practice Residency Program at North Mississippi Medical Center, which is the nation's largest rural hospital.