Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Join the community of UPR donors who make this station possible. YOUR membership donation has the power to make a big difference! GIVE NOW

Utah in Poor Standing at International Health Conference

pbs.org

The Trust for Americas Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation held a health-briefing conference in South Korea Thursday morning. 

The report card for how well individual states scored on health priority was released.  The score is based on 10 indicators, which include vaccinations, syringe exchange programs, disease surveillance and food safety.

Utah did not fare very well according to the report, as given by Jeffery Levi, Executive Director for the TFAH.

“We found that 28 states and Washington D.C. scored five or lower out of the 10 indicators. five states: Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, New York and Virginia tied for the top score, achieving 8 out of 10 indicators. 7 states: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah, tied for the lowest score at 3 out of 10 indicators.”

Levi says that one of the scariest threats they looked at was antibiotic resistance, is when antibiotics have lost their ability to fight infections, and superbugs, which is a bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics.

“More than 2 million Americans contract a superbug each year, leading to 23,000 deaths and $20 billion dollars in medical costs.”

However, lots of progress has been made, says Dan Hanfling, for the UMPC Center for Health Security. He says emergency physicians and nurses and public health professionals are now the first responders or first receivers.