South Dakota leads the list of the U.S. states most prepared for medical emergencies, with the shortest ER waiting time and most hospitals for the state’s population. This is the subject of a new survey looking into preparedness for medical situations across the U.S.
A recent study by Masumi analysed all U.S. states across key healthcare metrics to identify the states that are most prepared for medical emergencies. In order to evaluate healthcare systems, the research compared states by hospital availability, medical workforce, and emergency response efficiency. The data from the American Hospital Directory KFF was used to calculate a final preparedness score, ranking states for emergency readiness.
The top ten ‘ready’ states were found to be:
- Idaho
- Washington
- Utah
- Arizona
- Nevada
- Maryland
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Texas
In terms of deep diving the data, the U.S. state most prepared for medical emergencies is South Dakota, with a preparedness score of 100, reflecting a sufficient number of hospitals and available medical workforce. The state has the most nurses and most hospitals per 100K residents, with 2.5 hospitals available. South Dakota also has the shortest ER waiting time at 113 minutes on average.
Louisiana ranks second on the list of the states most prepared for medical emergencies, scoring 97.9. There are 299.4 available hospital beds per 100K residents in the state, more than in South Dakota, and the state leads in available doctors, with 302.5 specialists per 100K.
Mississippi holds third place, getting a preparedness score of 95.4. The state leads in available space for new patients, with 304.7 hospital beds per 100K people, the highest number in the ranking. The rate of available doctors and nurses is a little lower than in South Dakota and Louisiana.
West Virginia takes fourth place with a score of 89.5. There are 2 hospitals per 100K residents in the state and 328.6 doctors for the same population. West Virginia follows Mississippi closely when it comes to available hospital space, at 303.2 beds per 100K.
Ohio is fifth in the ranking of the U.S. states most prepared for medical emergencies, with a preparedness score of 87.5. The state has more available doctors than West Virginia or Mississippi, but overall, there are fewer hospitals for patients at 1.2 per 100K.
Overall, emergency readiness shows surprising winners and losers that challenge assumptions about healthcare quality. Small rural states often outperform wealthy coastal regions in getting patients treated quickly when minutes matter most.
