Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2007

While important progress has been made, critical areas of the nation's emergency health preparedness effort still require attention. In addition, the continuing trend of annual cuts in federal funding for state and local preparedness activities threatens the nation's safety.

A report released by Trust for America's Health (TFAH), a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority contains state-by-state health preparedness scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities.

All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) were evaluated based on data from publicly available sources or public officials in 2007. Thirty-five states and D.C. scored eight or higher on the scale of 10 indicators. Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia scored the highest with 10 out of 10. Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming scored the lowest with six out of 10. Florida achieved 7 of the 10 possible indicators.

The report raises concerns that Florida is one of only seven states that have not purchased antivirals to stockpile and use during a pandemic flu. Thirty-five states and D.C. scored eight or higher on the scale of 10 indicators. Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia scored the highest with 10 out of 10. Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming scored the lowest with six out of 10.