CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Officials with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources say the state has scored 7.3 for health security preparedness efforts compared to the national average of 7.2 according to data released in the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and 20 development partners.
"The National Health Security Preparedness Index looks at five major categories or domains including health surveillance, community planning and engagement, incident and information management, surge management, and countermeasure management," said State Health Officer and Commissioner for the Bureau for Public Health Dr. Letitia Tierney. "It’s clear that West Virginia is on the right track when it comes to overall disaster and emergency preparedness. Much of our success is directly related to the outstanding partnerships we have at the state and local level including emergency management, hospitals, healthcare providers, pharmacies, EMS and health departments. The state’s health and medical response in emergency situations during times of major flooding, H1N1, and superstorms like Hurricane Sandy and the 2012 Derecho have helped move WV in the right direction."
The NHSPI is not to be considered a comparative state-by-state ranking system, but rather a tool for each state to review its preparedness level crossing 14 sub-domain aspects of response, which make up the five major focal areas. The score was derived by examining 128 measurements from more than 35 sources. More information about the NHSPI is available at www.nhspi.org.