Posted 12/20/2006

S.C. emergency preparedness score slips after readiness indicators are changed

 What a difference a year makes.

This time last year the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health ranked South Carolina among the top three states in the nation in how well it can protect citizens from major health emergencies.

The Palmetto State scored eight out of 10 key indicators of emergency preparedness capabilities.

The 2006 report, however, is another matter.  South Carolina plummeted from the top tier to the bottom half of states that scored six or less points for their preparedness for emergencies such as pandemic flu or a bioterrorism attack.

Dr. Max Learner, director of public health preparedness at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, says that is because the Trust uses different indicators from one report to the next.

“Each year they pick different indicators or different measures so you’re going to get highly inconsistent results,” Learner said of the report which has been prepared annually since 2003.

 “They have an opinion, they have a position they’re trying to promote so they gather the facts they want to use and selectively report on those facts. So what they have to say is basically not valid,” he said.

Dr. Jane Richter, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Arnold School of Public Health, said that notwithstanding the Trust’s assessment, “South Carolina is probably as well prepared as any state in the nation.”

While Richter and Learner believe the state is making progress toward dealing with an unexpected health emergency, the Trust for America's Health says the nation as a whole has a long way to go.

"The nation is nowhere near as prepared as we should be for bioterrorism, bird flu and other health disasters," said Jeff Levi, the group's executive director. "We continue to make progress each year, but it is limited. As a whole, Americans face unnecessary and unacceptable levels of risk."

All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia were evaluated for this year’s report. Half of the states scored six or less indicators. Oklahoma scored the highest with 10 out of 10; California, Iowa, Maryland, and New Jersey scored the lowest with four out of 10.

In the Southeast, Georgia and Florida scored 7 points, North Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana, 6 and Alabama, 8.

In the report, "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters and Bioterrorism," the Trust awards a point for a state that achieves each of ten of its public health indicators.

South Carolina was awarded points for having:

• Enough high security laboratories to meet bioterrorism threats,
• Enough laboratory scientists to test for anthrax or plague,
• Year-around lab-based influenza surveillance,
• Compatibility with the Centers for Disease Control National Electronic Disease Surveillance System,
• Increased or maintained funding levels for public health services from 2005 to 2006.

The report said the state came up with no points because:

• It did not achieve “green” status for Strategic National Stockpile Delivery which is to distribute vaccines or medicines during an outbreak,
• It did not increase or maintain the seasonal vaccination rate for adults over age 65,
• It did not rank at or above the national median for the number of adults over ages 65 who have ever received a pneumonia vaccination,
• Has a nursing workforce shortage,
• Could not accommodate a two-week surge in the need for hospital beds during a moderate pandemic.