diff --git a/startupscript/butane/probe-proxy-readiness.sh b/startupscript/butane/probe-proxy-readiness.sh
index d124a516a..05b22b028 100644
--- a/startupscript/butane/probe-proxy-readiness.sh
+++ b/startupscript/butane/probe-proxy-readiness.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ set -o xtrace
 # shellcheck source=/dev/null
 source /home/core/metadata-utils.sh
 
-APP_HEALTH="$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' application-server 2>/dev/null || echo "none")"
+APP_HEALTH="$(docker inspect --format='{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}none{{end}}' application-server 2>/dev/null || echo "none")"
 
 if docker ps -q --filter "name=proxy-agent" | grep -q . \
     && docker ps -q --filter "name=application-server" | grep -q . \