USA Hospitals NOT ready for flu pandemic

[Guest guest]

Health system not yet ready for disaster: study

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Tue Dec 12, 2:11 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of all U.S. states would run out of

hospital beds within the first two weeks of a moderate flu pandemic

and 47 states would run out if a bad one hit, according to a report

issued on Tuesday.

The report from the Trust for America's Health shows the United States

is still poorly prepared for a pandemic, biological attack or similar

disaster, despite five years of government warnings and emphasis on

the issue.

" I think the public believes that more is being done and that we are

better prepared than we are, " the group's executive director,

Levi, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

The report said that in the five years since the September 11 attacks

and deadly cases of anthrax being sent in the mail, the United States

has endured public health threats ranging from Hurricane Katrina and

to a life-threatening E. coli outbreak to a potential flu pandemic.

But virtually all states still lack what is known as surge capacity in

hospitals, meaning their hospital beds would fill up quickly if there

were large numbers of casualties or sick people.

The report said 40 states have a shortage of registered nurses. " We

can have lots of hospital beds but if we don't have workers to take

care of patients in those beds, we are still in a pretty bad state, "

Levi said.

The Trust, a non-profit group that reports on and advocates for public

health measures, measured the 50 states and Washington, D.C., on 10

measures of preparedness:

* Ability to distribute from the Strategic National Stockpile of

emergency vaccines, antidotes, and medical supplies

* Capability to test for biological threats

* Laboratory experts trained to test for a suspected outbreak of

anthrax, plague or other threats

* Year-round surveillance for pandemic influenza

* Hospital bed capacity

* Seasonal flu vaccinations

* Pneumonia vaccinations

* Compatibility with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's

National Electronic Disease Surveillance System

* Numbers of nurses

* Public health budgets

Only one state, Oklahoma, has an acceptable score on all 10 measures,

according to the group.

California, Iowa, land, and New Jersey scored the lowest on the

assessment. More than half of states scored six or less on the 10

measures and 12 and Washington, D.C., scored five or less, according

to the report, published at

http://healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror06/.

Federal money is being spent, the report said. The Public Health

Security and Bioterrorism Act of 2002 provided nearly $1 billion a

year in increased funds for federal and state preparedness for mass

health hazards.

On Saturday Congress passed a bill to improve preparedness, including

additions to Project BioShield, a $5.6 billion program created in 2004

to speed vaccine and drug development.

The bill also would designate the Department of Health and Human

Services as the lead federal agency to respond to public health

emergency -- something the Trust recommends.

But the federal government, including

President W. Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary

Mike Leavitt -- have made it repeatedly clear that states, local

authorities and individuals must do the biggest share of preparing for

disasters, natural or human-inflicted.

http://news./s/nm/20061212/hl_nm/disaster_preparedness_dc_3