Ohio in middle of pack in disaster preparedness, report says; state disputes scoring

State disputes part of preparedness rating

December 19, 2008
by Michael Sangiacomo
Plain Dealer Reporter

Ohio ranked in the middle of the pack among states in its preparedness for calamities such as disease pandemics, natural disasters or bioterrorist attacks, according to a report released this week.

But state officials noted they did well in eight of the 10 categories in the report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Ohio failed in two areas the foundation considered.

In one of those failed areas, Ohio's public-health laboratory was judged unable to meet the expectations of the state's pandemic flu plan. The other failed area was a lack of state laws to reduce or limit the legal liability of health care volunteers who serve during a public-health emergency.

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