Virginia ranked as probably the greatest states ready for public well being emergencies

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) -Virginia has been acknowledged as one of many nation’s greatest ready states to answer public well being emergencies. A title that has gone undefeated for a number of years operating.

One of many newest stories of Virginia’s preparedness standing is from Belief for America’s Well being, Prepared or Not 2022: Defending the Public’s Well being from Illnesses, Disasters and Bioterrorism places Virginia of their prime tier of all states.

The report measures ranges of preparedness on the state stage and the way they reply to a variety of well being emergencies together with infectious outbreaks, pure disasters and artifical occasions.

Virginia was additionally ranked one of many prime states in final yr’s Nationwide Well being Safety Preparedness Index that evaluates a state’s readiness to deal with public well being emergencies.

“This ongoing and repeated validation of Virginia’s public well being emergency preparedness is a testomony to the exhausting work of the hundreds of workers of the Virginia Division of Well being who day in and day trip are targeted on defending the well being and selling the well-being of Virginians,” mentioned Performing State Well being Commissioner Colin M. Greene, MD, MPH. “Our ongoing consideration to preparedness implies that once we are confronted with conditions comparable to this pandemic or extreme climate occasions or calculated assaults, we’ve got techniques, steerage, relationships and group partnerships in place to launch a complete response.”

March 7 marked two years because the first confirmed COVID-19 case was present in Virginia. Since then, public well being businesses, personal well being care suppliers like hospitals and well being techniques have labored exhausting to attempt to fight the over 1.65 million COVID-19 circumstances that resulted in over 105,600 hospitalizations.

“Virginia’s hospitals are vital companions within the Commonwealth’s emergency preparedness infrastructure and important suppliers of life-saving care to sufferers, together with these whose well-being is compromised by public well being emergencies,” mentioned Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Affiliation (VHHA) President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “The pandemic has been a real-world stress take a look at of our well being care supply system and its stage of emergency readiness. Whereas there are all the time alternatives to enhance, it’s gratifying to see that Virginia’s dedication to preparedness continues to put us among the many prime states within the nation.”

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