Last year, patient assaults on St. Barnabas staff jumped more than 300 percent, from 14 assaults in 2008 to 44 in 2009, a WABC investigation revealed on the eve before Workers Memorial Day. Incidents at the Bronx hospital included a security officer "punched in face," another reports being " hit with a chair," and a doctor "punched in the eye."

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Employees filed an OSHA complaint this week, charging the hospital has not taken even basic measures to protect staff and patients.

Former St. Barnabas security guard Steve Rosa told WABC-TV he decided to leave his job after he was scratched by a patient with AIDS, and had to undergo 28 days of treatment. "When we asked for more security, they'd say 'well, you know, we gotta go with the budget or we're trying to hire someone, give us some time, which is never,'" Rosa said.

Hospital records show St. Barnabas has the highest assault rate of all the major Bronx hospitals, with 18 assaults per every 1,000 employees. Although other major Bronx hospitals have separate psychiatric ERs where emotionally disturbed patients wait and are treated under close guard, St. Barnabas takes no such precautions.

About Examining St. Barnabas
Community hospitals serving neighborhoods with large numbers of uninsured, poor, and non-English speaking patients often don't receive the same public scrutiny as well-known academic medical centers. Examining St. Barnabas, a public information project by the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare, aims to shed light on topics related to the quality of health care and possibilities for health care reform in the inner city neighborhoods served by St. Barnabas.