Trust for America’s Health Issues Report on State Bioterrorism Programs

Trust for America’s Health, a national non-profit organization, has released “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health in the Age of Bioterrorism.” The 33-page report, available at www.healthyamericans.org, describes the progress that has been made in preparing states and communities to respond to potential bioterrorism events. The report identifies strengths as well as areas for improvement for the Kansas Bioterrorism Program and similar programs in other states.

“We are pleased with what we have accomplished up to now, but there is still much we can do, and will do,” stated Richard Morrissey, Acting State Health Director and Executive Director of the Kansas Bioterrorism Program. “We knew from the start that this would be a multi-year effort and we will continue to improve our preparedness in cooperation with our federal and state partners.”

The report identified ten key indicators to serve as performance benchmarks for state bioterrorism programs throughout the United States. Each state then received a score of zero to ten (with ten being best) based upon its conformance with each indicator. One point was awarded for each indicator that a state met.

Based upon the study for the report that was concluded in August, Kansas scored a 3.

Kansas was one of 24 states that successfully spent or obligated at least 90 percent of its available 2002 federal funds for bioterrorism preparedness. Kansas was also recognized as one of 43 states that have a laboratory equipped to handle critical biological agents. All 50 states received one point each for having an initial bioterrorism plan developed.

Kansas’ status on the remaining indicators is as follows:

Passed at least 50 percent of federal funds to local health departments: Kansas has made a continued commitment to provide funding directly to local health departments as part of the cooperative funding agreement with CDC. The amount of funding shared with local health departments was nearly 50 percent in the first year and in the current funding cycle, the Kansas Bioterrorism Program passed 51 percent of federal funds to local health departments.

State spending on public health was increased or was maintained: Like many other states, Kansas has reduced state spending to make up budget shortfalls over the past several years. No federal bioterrorism funds have been used in place of state funds.

Sufficient workers to distribute Strategic National Stockpile supplies: Only two states currently meet this indicator. There is a nationwide shortage of qualified health workers, and Kansas is not exempt from this shortage. However, the Kansas Bioterrorism Program is actively working with local jurisdictions to develop the resources necessary to fully support the receipt and distribution of Strategic National Stockpile materials.

Has enough bioterrorism-capable laboratories to handle a public health emergency: The KDHE Division of Health and Environmental Laboratories has developed formal agreements with 40 sentinel labs to perform initial testing and has developed statewide labs with the capacity to do confirmatory testing. Kansas State University has used bioterrorism funding to upgrade a laboratory to perform confirmatory testing at the state level.

No more than 3 counties without continuous high-speed Internet connections to the national Health Alert Network (HAN): KDHE has allocated resources to help all local health departments acquire continuous high-speed Internet access, and continues to work with those without this level of access to overcome local barriers. All Kansas local health departments are linked to the Health Alert Network and have 24/7 pager coverage for emergencies.

Has pandemic flu plan: Kansas has developed a draft plan to respond to a pandemic influenza outbreak. KDHE is consulting with CDC on the status of the draft plan.

State-specific information about SARS was available during the SARS epidemic: KDHE published news releases to increase awareness and provide health education information about SARS during the epidemic earlier this year. and did provide information through links to CDC on its Web site. In addition, the KDHE Epidemiologic Services Section provided clinical information packets about SARS to hospitals and private physicians.

“We appreciate the feedback and comparison with other states,” said Mindee Reece, director of the Kansas Bioterrorism Program. “We are continuing to improve our preparedness every day and will make sure that the areas identified in the report are a priority in our ongoing efforts.”

Back to KDHE News Release Index