Most States fare poorly in emergency care

Most States fare poorly in emergency care

The American College of Emergency Physicians has given the United States a C-minus grade for its Emergency Care System.

The assessed 50 states (and the District of Columbia) are ill-prepared for any contingencies like natural disaster, epidemic or terrorist attack. “We have no capacity to handle a Hurricane Katrina or an avian flu outbreak,” said Angela Gardner, the chairperson of the task force that carried out the analysis. “We can barely handle a regular flu outbreak.”

The analysis covered areas like availability of medical facilities, emergency doctors, trauma centers, registered nurses and effectiveness of 911 systems. Most of the states have received below-average grades in many of the important criteria.

“More than 80 percent of the states earned poor or near-failing grades,” said the report. The task force was appalled to find that none of the states earned an A grade. The states of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut and the District of Columbia received B grades. Arkansas, Utah and Idaho almost flunked, getting D grades for their emergency care systems.

According to the report, the number of emergency departments has gone down by 14% while the number of people approaching them has increased. This has led to overcrowding and insufficient care. The quality of the care provided and the state of public health is also way below the mark.

The hurricanes that occurred last year have brought to the fore the need for improvement in the system. Citizens have been facing problems getting access to proper emergency services every now and then. “If the emergency medical system gets a C-minus on an average day, how can it ever be expected to provide expert, efficient care during a natural disaster or terrorist attack?” questions Gardner.

The assessment attributes the poor state of the emergency system to lack of government funding and unfavorable legal environment.