Public Health Preparedness Jeopardized by Budget Cuts

December 20, 2010
by N/a
Health Leaders Magazine

 

In the eighth annualReady or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, 14 states scored 9 or higher (out of 10) on 10 key indicators of public health preparedness. Three states (Arkansas, North Dakota, and Washington) scored 10. Another 25 states and Washington, D.C., scored 7 or 8. The two lowest, Iowa and Montana, each scored a 5.

Since Sept. 11, 2001 and the anthrax attacks that followed it, the nation is better poised to prevent, identify and contain disease outbreak and bioterrorism threats; responses are also quicker to natural disasters and outbreaks, the report notes. However, these gains are jeopardized by severe budget cuts by federal, state, and local governments, according to the report released by two nonprofit organizations, the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,

 

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