The NCMS has joined with the AMA in remembering Edward R. Annis, MD, a former president and board member of the AMA. Dr. Annis was a world-renowned general surgeon from Florida. After serving as president of the AMA in 1963-1964, he served as president of the World Medical Association from 1963-1964. Among his many accomplishments was his appearance at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in a live nationally televised speech in 1962 opposing the passage of legislation that ultimately led to the creation of the Medicare Program. The historic event was featured in a documentary, Right from the Start, produced in 2000 by NCMS EVP, CEO Robert Seligson as part of a graduate studies program at NC State University. Dr. Annis spoke when the documentary premiered on the NCSU campus on October 23, 2000. The documentary was shown at the AMA Meeting in November 2006 and has been shown in other venues around the country.
A Mass of the Resurrection for Dr. Annis will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Miami Shores, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dr. Ed Annis Scholarship Fund of the Florida Medical Association, PO Box 10269, Tallahassee, Florida 32302. The scholarship is awarded annually to a medical student who demonstrates a commitment to organized medicine and public health. (A more complete obituatury is available at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/herald/obituary.aspx?n=edward-r-annis&pid=132973779.)