Iowa tied for dead last in a new study ranking the states on being prepared for major health emergencies. Iowa’s among a half-dozen states to fail four of the ten categories on the annual "Ready or Not?" study by the nonprofit group Trust for America’s Health.
The study ranks the states and assesses how prepared they are to deal with events like bioterrorist attacks or pandemic flu. Criteria include funding for public health services, vaccination rates and disease surveillance.
While seven states scored perfect tens, Iowa’s tied at the bottom of the survey with Arkansas, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The top-ranking states are: Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.