Armed security officers could patrol six Catholic Health Services hospitals across Long Island and NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola this year, joining armed officers deploying or already deployed at Stony Brook University Hospital and most of Northwell Health's 13 LI hospitals, according to an article on the Newsday website.
Many hospitals are increasing security by hiring armed officers and installing cameras.
Fifty-two percent of hospitals in a national survey had armed personnel with handguns, according to a 2016 article in the research journal Workplace Health and Safety.
The rate of serious workplace violence incidents in healthcare was more than four times greater than in private industry from 2002 to 2013, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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