The public health policy organization, Trust for America’s Health, ranks Delaware in the top five of states best prepared for a public health emergency.
TFAH is based in Washington D.C. and funded by George Soros. Their annual Health Emergency Preparedness Report grades states in ten categories ranging from public health funding to state participation in an Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, or eNLC. Delaware is one of five states scoring an eight out of ten or better.
The group’s CEO John Auerbach says Delaware scored well in several of the categories.
“Among the indicators where Delaware does particularly well are in its public health laboratories, in its flu vaccination rates, in the work that’s being done with hospitals in reducing the risks of superbugs or hospital associated transmission,” said Auerbach.
Auerbach says Delaware did not score on two out of the ten points, because of recent cuts to the health budget and failure to pass a bill guaranteeing paid sick leave for the workforce.
“They don’t have a disincentive, in other words, against avoiding potentially spreading an illness to their fellow workers or to the public,” said Auerbach of the bill.
TFAH began its Health Emergency Preparedness Report in 2003 in response to the attacks on 9/11. The group confers with public health experts in the public and private sectors and then follows up on recommended data points to conduct the study each year.
Though the report considers many threats to public health, this year, closer attention was paid to weather related emergencies. Auerbach says it’s important to consider the social and emotional wellbeing of people dealing with the impact of such disasters when evaluating the overall public health.