MHA Press Room

Report: States improve emergency preparedness, much remains to be done

While only 14 states last year scored eight points or higher (out of a possible 10) on an assessment of health emergency preparedness, seven states received a score of 10, and 28 states and Washington, D.C. scored an eight or nine on the 10-point scale this year, according to a report by the Trust for America’s Health. The fifth annual “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,” also noted that 21 states do not provide sufficient legal protection from liability for health care volunteers who respond to a call for assistance in an emergency and seven states have made no purchases toward their share of the stockpile of antivirals for pandemic influenza.

Jeff Levi, Executive Director of TFAH, said “there is little doubt that emergency health preparedness is on the national radar. But until all states are equally well prepared, our country is not as safe as it can and should be.”

Flu pandemic poses economic threat: study

Preparing for an influenza pandemic could cost $5 billion in aggregate for the 5,000 general hospitals across the country, a report from Trust for America’s Health concluded.

The report estimated that the preparation costs could average $1 million per hospital. This could strain an already troubled industry, as 30% of hospitals are already losing money, and many do not have more than a few weeks of cash on hand, the group reported.

In the event of a pandemic, hospitals “would be overrun,” and routine services such as doctor’s visits would likely be cut back, said Misha Segal, a consultant to the trust and lead author of the report. Healthcare was one of 20 industry sectors analyzed in the report, Pandemic Flu and the Potential for U.S. Economic Recession, which provided a state-by-state overview of the economic impact of a large scale flu outbreak.

Researchers estimated a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the U.S. since World War II, although the healthcare industry as whole could see an increase in its goods and services provided, due to increased hospital admissions and a demand for masks, ventilators and vaccines.

[ via Jennifer Lubell, Modern Healthcare's Daily Dose ]