Five years after Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. emergency health preparedness is still wanting, says the report, “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.” Released in December by Trust for America's Health, www.healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror06/BioTerrorReport2006.pdf, it provides state-by-state preparedness scores based on 10 indicators.

Based on those 10 indicators, half of U.S. states scored six or less, Oklahoma scoring the highest with 10 out of 10; Kansas a nine. California, Iowa, Maryland and New Jersey scored the lowest with four out of 10.