Des Moines, Iowa — State officials have announced the state medical director is leaving, sometime in late October.
Dr. Caitlin Pedati was the medical epidemiologist in Nebraska before she was hired in June of 2018 as state medical director and epidemiologist for the State of Iowa. A news release from the Iowa Department of Public Health says Pedati “plans to pursue new career opportunities.”
Governor Reynolds, in a written statement, thanked Pedati for her outstanding service throughout the pandemic. Reynolds gave Pedati a significant pay boost last year, for an annual salary of 265-thousand dollars. Kelly Garcia, the interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the work of the last 18 months has been difficult at best and Pedati’s personal sacrifice is to be commended.
Pedati was in the public spotlight at the beginning of the pandemic and spoke at many of the governor’s news conferences. However, it was Pedati’s boss who spoke for the agency during the governor’s most recent pandemic-related news conference.
Pedati took the position when Dr. Patricia Quinlisk retired.
