A recent study from Forbes Health ranked 49 states and the District of Columbia by their emergency healthcare infrastructures, with Maine landing in the top spot.
The publication analyzed data from the Census Bureau, CMS and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians to formulate the ranking. Each state was evaluated on six factors: number of ambulatory service businesses; number of EMTs and paramedics per 100,000 residents; median time patients spend in the emergency department before leaving the visit; percentage of patients who arrive at the ED with stroke symptoms and receive brain scan results within 45 minutes; and median number of minutes that lapse before patients with chest pain or a possible heart attack needing specialized care are transferred to another hospital.
Hawaii was the only state excluded due to a lack of available data.
These are the 15 best states for emergency healthcare, according to Forbes Health:
1. Maine
2. South Dakota
3. Oklahoma
4. Vermont
5 (tie). Mississippi
5 (tie). Kentucky
5 (tie). Indiana
8. Arkansas
9. Illinois
10. Pennsylvania
11. North Dakota
12. Kansas
13. South Carolina
14. West Virginia
15. Missouri
And these are the worst:
1. Rhode Island
2. District of Columbia
3. Maryland
4. California
5. Oregon
6. Florida
7. Washington
8. Nebraska
9. Arizona
10. Alabama
11. Michigan
12. Ohio
13. Utah
14. New Jersey
15. Virginia
View the full ranking here.