(Spencer)– State health officials have announced smallpox response teams will be in place at 14 Iowa hospitals by April, and a northwest Iowa hospital is on the list.
Spencer Municipal Hospital is one of the healthcare centers across Iowa selected to participate in the state’s smallpox preparedness plan. As part of that plan, Spencer Hospital will put together a team of 30 staff members who are willing to be vaccinated for smallpox and who would be prepared to serve on the regional smallpox response team.
The first step will for two members of the team to head to Des Moines next week to be vaccinated. One of those individuals is De Ann Vaag, head of Infection Control at Spencer Hospital. She says they got involved because they felt it was their duty to help the public and state in any way possible.
