Ready or Not 2024: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, released last month by Trust for America’s Health, identifies key gaps in national and state preparedness to protect residents’ health during emergencies and makes recommendations to strengthen the nation’s public health system and improve emergency readiness.
The report, Trust for America’s Health’s 21st annual one, measures states’ preparedness to respond to a spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services based on nine key indicators. It also provides federal and state policymakers actionable data and recommended steps to improve emergency readiness. Their analysis tiers the states and DC into three performance levels – high, middle, and low – placing 21 states and DC in the high-performance tier, 13 states in the middle-performance tier, and 16 states in the low-performance tier.
The report also includes a special feature on heat and those population groups at higher risk of health impacts due to extreme heat.
In addition, the report includes policy recommendations for action by the administration, Congress, and states, including:
- Increase funding to modernize public health infrastructure and to grow the size and diversity of the public health workforce.
- Build healthy, disaster-resilient communities by investing in comprehensive public health, prevention, and health equity programs.
- Strengthen public health communications and efforts to counter misinformation.
- Ensure paid leave for all employees.
- Support healthcare system readiness and the medical countermeasures pipeline.
- Prepare for extreme weather and environmental hazards.
View the full report and learn more.