The Trust for America's Health organization released its Ready or Not? report today rating each state on its measures to protecting the public from diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism. Florida racked up only half of the points.
The annual Ready or Not? report is meant to provide policymakers and the public with analyses of progress and points of improvement in the country's public health preparedness.
Most of the states scored a 6 or lower on the report and Florida was one of them with a score of 5 out of 10.
Paul Kuehnert is senior program director with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which helped with the study. He says a basic standard is necessary in public health preparedness.
"Obviously it's impossible to be prepared for every scenario but it is possible and essential to maintain a basic core level of preparation and response capabilities in our health departments," he says.
Florida scored points for being able to assemble public health staff within an hour to respond quickly to an incident and for having a complete climate change adaptation plan.
