How well is New Jersey prepared for a public health emergency? A new study by a public health nonprofit ranks the Garden State as one of the best prepared in the US, where less than half the states are highly prepared, according to the study.
Dr. Nadine Gracia is CEO of Trust for America’s Health. She said one area of strength for the state is in testing for diseases.
“The state has a type of a plan with regard to public health laboratories to be able to surge testing capacity in times of emergency. The state has both public health and emergency medicine management accreditation,” she said.That accreditation shows that the state is accountable for quality performance.
New Jersey is also allowed to bring in nurses from other places in an emergency, said Gracia.
“It also is part of the nurse licensure compact, which means in time of emergency that it can work to search the amount. for example, of nurses to help bolster the healthcare workforce,” she said.
But New Jersey does need to get more people vaccinated against the seasonal flu. It’s about 10 points below the national target. “New Jersey’s vaccination rate is currently at about 59.3% and while that’s above what we see in the national average, the national target is at 70%," said Gracia.