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lauerzHARRISON — Some workers at St. Vincent's Hospital Westchester say low staffing and lax security have created unsafe work conditions, including a recent string of brutal assaults on nurses at the psychiatric facility.
The injuries include a broken arm, black eye, herniated disc, a concussion and a split lip. The hospital is unprepared to care for the increased number of violent patients, union representatives said.
"We're always, always understaffed," said Mike Gurry, a St. Vincent's nurse and union rep. "There are people out all the time because of assaults."
Gurry has worked at the hospital for 16 years and is a former New York City firefighter. He and others say there have been as many as 15 serious assaults in the past year.
Hospital officials, however, say one patient created much of the violence, which happened in October, and that the patient has since been stabilized.
Some staffers contend the problem goes beyond one bad month.
Many of the assaults were improperly documented and procedures weren't followed during internal hospital investigations, nurses say.
"They (hospital directors) were calling cabs to bring us to the nearest hospital," said Regina Peniowich, 50, of Mahopac, who was one of two nurses assaulted Oct. 18. She was working the night shift when a very ill patient attacked her with a chair, forcing her to the ground.
"I had to call 911 myself," Peniowich said.
Hospital administrators say the patient didn't have a violent history, but Peniowich said police told her otherwise. The patient's identity isn't available because of health privacy laws. Peniowich said she later found out that the patient had attacked a staff member in another unit.
"The police should've been called every time, but they weren't," said Christine LaPerche of the New York State Nurses Association. LaPerche does not work at St. Vincent's but represents nurses from that hospital and from others in the region.
сообщает www.lohud.com (это наш местный сайт новостей, LOwer HUDson valley news)
http://www.lohud.com/article/2009912210341
The injuries include a broken arm, black eye, herniated disc, a concussion and a split lip. The hospital is unprepared to care for the increased number of violent patients, union representatives said.
"We're always, always understaffed," said Mike Gurry, a St. Vincent's nurse and union rep. "There are people out all the time because of assaults."
Gurry has worked at the hospital for 16 years and is a former New York City firefighter. He and others say there have been as many as 15 serious assaults in the past year.
Hospital officials, however, say one patient created much of the violence, which happened in October, and that the patient has since been stabilized.
Some staffers contend the problem goes beyond one bad month.
Many of the assaults were improperly documented and procedures weren't followed during internal hospital investigations, nurses say.
"They (hospital directors) were calling cabs to bring us to the nearest hospital," said Regina Peniowich, 50, of Mahopac, who was one of two nurses assaulted Oct. 18. She was working the night shift when a very ill patient attacked her with a chair, forcing her to the ground.
"I had to call 911 myself," Peniowich said.
Hospital administrators say the patient didn't have a violent history, but Peniowich said police told her otherwise. The patient's identity isn't available because of health privacy laws. Peniowich said she later found out that the patient had attacked a staff member in another unit.
"The police should've been called every time, but they weren't," said Christine LaPerche of the New York State Nurses Association. LaPerche does not work at St. Vincent's but represents nurses from that hospital and from others in the region.
сообщает www.lohud.com (это наш местный сайт новостей, LOwer HUDson valley news)
http://www.lohud.com/article/2009912210341
