An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — An annual survey that gauges how well states and their hospitals and other health care providers are prepared to protect the public health shows that West Virginia still has some work to do, despite making some gains in the past year.
The 2016 National Health Security Preparedness Index compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gives West Virginia an overall score of 6.3 on a 10-point scale. That’s up slightly from last year, but West Virginia remained among 16 states that are below the national average of 6.7.
The index strives to measure how well-positioned states are to keep people safe and healthy against large-scale public health threats, whether it’s a disease outbreak or some sort of disaster. It breaks down scores into six general areas, which are composed of dozens of sub-categories.
Among the general areas, or domains, West Virginia improved in four of six categories…