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Survey: Arizona unprepared for catastrophic health emergency
Survey: Arizona unprepared for catastrophic health emergency
Associated Press
Dec. 13, 2006 08:26 AM
TUCSON - Arizona ranks among the bottom 12 states for its ability to respond to a catastrophic health emergency, according to a new national survey.
Specifically, Arizona is not ready to deliver vital drugs or vaccines quickly to its population, cannot handle a massive surge of patients at its hospitals, and is not vaccinating enough of its older, high-risk citizens against flu and pneumonia.
Though the nation as a whole remains inadequately prepared for a disaster that sickens or injures millions - even five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - Arizona fares worse than most, the report released Tuesday concludes
Titled "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public Health from Disease, Disasters and Bioterrorism," the rankings are issued by the nonprofit disease-prevention group Trust for America's Health.
The nation's public-health emergency-response system is underfunded and lacks accountability and strong national leadership, the survey found. Some unsettling scenarios could develop should disaster strike, it suggested.
"The overall message is, to some degree we are doing better," said Jeffrey Levi, the group's executive director. "But we're not as prepared as we ought to be. There is tremendous unevenness across the states."
Out of 10 factors signaling emergency preparedness, Arizona achieves five. Just four states - California, Iowa, Maryland and New Jersey - do worse, while only one state - Oklahoma - scored a 10.
An Arizona health official said the state's rapid growth gets much of the blame for the problem.
"We have a shortage across the state of health-care workers, especially nurses and doctors, and that of course affects our surge capacity. We rightly got hit for that," said Will Humble, head of public-health preparedness for the state Department of Health Services.
One of Arizona's most critical weaknesses is a lack of "surge capacity" in hospital beds, meaning hospitals would be overrun by patients in the event of pandemic flu.
Half of the states would run out of hospital beds within two weeks of a moderate outbreak - defined as eight to 12 weeks - of pandemic flu, the survey found. Forty states, including Arizona, have a nursing shortage.
Arizona can effectively respond to a single major disaster, on the scale of a toxic truck spill endangering a community, Humble said.
"But a full-fledged influenza pandemic? No, we would have problems. Everything would be overwhelmed," he said.
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, $4 billion in federal funds has been doled out to help states prepare for disaster.
Associated Press
Dec. 13, 2006 08:26 AM
TUCSON - Arizona ranks among the bottom 12 states for its ability to respond to a catastrophic health emergency, according to a new national survey.
Specifically, Arizona is not ready to deliver vital drugs or vaccines quickly to its population, cannot handle a massive surge of patients at its hospitals, and is not vaccinating enough of its older, high-risk citizens against flu and pneumonia.
Though the nation as a whole remains inadequately prepared for a disaster that sickens or injures millions - even five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - Arizona fares worse than most, the report released Tuesday concludes
Titled "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public Health from Disease, Disasters and Bioterrorism," the rankings are issued by the nonprofit disease-prevention group Trust for America's Health.
The nation's public-health emergency-response system is underfunded and lacks accountability and strong national leadership, the survey found. Some unsettling scenarios could develop should disaster strike, it suggested.
"The overall message is, to some degree we are doing better," said Jeffrey Levi, the group's executive director. "But we're not as prepared as we ought to be. There is tremendous unevenness across the states."
Out of 10 factors signaling emergency preparedness, Arizona achieves five. Just four states - California, Iowa, Maryland and New Jersey - do worse, while only one state - Oklahoma - scored a 10.
An Arizona health official said the state's rapid growth gets much of the blame for the problem.
"We have a shortage across the state of health-care workers, especially nurses and doctors, and that of course affects our surge capacity. We rightly got hit for that," said Will Humble, head of public-health preparedness for the state Department of Health Services.
One of Arizona's most critical weaknesses is a lack of "surge capacity" in hospital beds, meaning hospitals would be overrun by patients in the event of pandemic flu.
Half of the states would run out of hospital beds within two weeks of a moderate outbreak - defined as eight to 12 weeks - of pandemic flu, the survey found. Forty states, including Arizona, have a nursing shortage.
Arizona can effectively respond to a single major disaster, on the scale of a toxic truck spill endangering a community, Humble said.
"But a full-fledged influenza pandemic? No, we would have problems. Everything would be overwhelmed," he said.
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, $4 billion in federal funds has been doled out to help states prepare for disaster.
