Major Health Emergency – Louisiana Is Least Prepared

Maybe it's something as common as the flu. Maybe it's something that we haven't really experienced before like the Zika Virus. The bottom line is this. Our state is not as prepared as it should be in the event of a major health emergency. The National Health Security Index finds Louisiana scores only a 5.6 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals says while this statistic is not good, it is no reason to be overly alarmed. Spokesman Bob Johannessen told the Louisiana Radio Network. 

Our medical infrastructure throughout the state is just not as robust as found in other states. We have very good health care systems in our larger communities but access to care is still an issue.

In comparison the national average in the report was a score of 6.7. Still the DHH says the report can be a bit misleading. Since many of the criterion used to generate the report did not compare favorable with Louisiana's master plan for dealing with health emergencies.

Based on the resources that are available, other states that maybe have more resources can do it differently. We’re going to get the same outcome but we’re relying on state employees to do that type of work.

However many people in the health industry feel that reliance on state employees in a cash strapped economy is a much bigger detriment  than what the DHH might want us to believe. Still state officials say don't worry if a health emergency happens Louisiana will be prepared and our citizens will be protected.