Indiana meets five out of a possible 10 key indicators of public health preparedness, according to the recently released 10th annual “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism”report.
The indicators are meant to show each state’s ability to respond to health emergencies — such as bioterrorist threats, serious disease outbreaks and extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy.
States received one point for each indicator achieved, with zero being the worst score and 10 being the best. Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin scored the highest, achieving eight of the 10 indicators. Kansas and Montana scored the lowest, hitting only three indicators.
This year’s Indiana score was the lowest since 2005, when Indiana met five indicators. In 2006, Indiana made six of 10 indicators. In 2007 and 2008, the Hoosier state made nine of 10 indicators. In 2009 it made seven, in 2010 it made eight, and in 2011 there were no state indicator scores issued in the report.
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