BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- According to a report from Trust For America's Health, Massachusetts is the state that is most prepared in case disaster strikes.
John Auerbach, author of TFAH's 2017 "Ready Or Not?" report, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl that the Commonwealth scored a 9 out of 10.
"It has an excellent public health department with strong leadership and expertise regarding how best to respond to an emergency," he said.
Auerbach did note that the state slipped one point from the perfect ten it earned last year due to a new point of criteria where the state cannot check the box--implementation of the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact.
"It ensures that nurses have the ability to cross state lines and practice, so that in an event of an emergency, they can travel from one state to another to help out in responding to the time-sensitive issues that may arrive," he said.
But he said Massachusetts is still top in the nation due to an infrastructure poised to deal with whatever comes its way.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl reports