CDC Emergency Preparedness: Zombie Edition

Public "Health": If zombies ever do shamble among us, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will be on the case with its usual investigative prowess and helpful information for the public in this already-viral blog post (cached version). Nice way to sneak in some real emergency preparedness messages, CDC!

California: A public hospital district in Salinas, already under fire for handing its outgoing CEO a $3.9 million retirement package, also gave him a previously undisclosed severance payment of nearly $1 million, reports Sam Allen for the Los Angeles Times.   

ER Closings: About 27 percent of the nation's non-rural emergency rooms have closed in the past 20 years, despite a 35 percent increase in ER visits during that time period, Mary Brophy Marcus reports for USA Today.

Patient Safety: Hospital websites may be exaggerating the benefits of "robotic surgery" and underplaying its risks, according to a new Johns Hopkins study, reports Janice Simmons for FierceHealthcare.

Health Policy: Health consultant Michael Millenson writes for Kaiser Health News about Newt Gingrich's "romance" with health wonks and what it means for his Presidential bid.

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Photo credit: David Hoggs via Flickr