Report card of state preparedness for H1N1 and other health emergencies released today
| The seventh annual “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism”, from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), is being released today. The report contains state-by-state health preparedness scores for all 50 states and Washington, DC based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities.
The findings for the legal preparedness indicator were based on work done by the Public/Private Legal Preparedness Initiative of the NC Institute for Public Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. The legal preparedness group has been instrumental in aiding states, including North Carolina, to enact specific legislation establishing entity liability protection, helping organizations assist more readily in times of emergency. To date 12 states have passed new legislation and an additional 20 have existing laws that support this activity, for a total of 32 states. The report also examines public health emergency preparedness in the context of the H1N1 flu outbreak and the economic downturn. The report will be made available on TFAH’s website, www.healthyamericans.org. Contacts: Liz Richardson Voyles, Communications Manager, Trust for America’s Health, (202)223-9870 ext. 21, www.healthyamericans.org Gene W. Matthews, JD, Senior Fellow, North Carolina Institute for Public Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, CB #8165 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165, office (919) 966-9924, cell (404) 606-1241, fax (919) 966-0478, matthewsphlaw@aol.com |
