Chaos erupted in an Emergency Room waiting area at a Bronx hospital last night when an unidentified man opened fire during an altercation. Details about the 7 p.m. shooting are still emerging, but witnesses say the gunman had come to the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in search of a rival gang member he'd fought with earlier in the day. "All you heard was a ruckus," one witness tells NY1. "Next thing you heard was a pop, pop, pop, and the next thing you know, you see all these kids and everyone running back to where the doctors are." more ›

Ahh, the double-edged sword of trying on baubles: They may be pretty, but they may also send you to the hospital. One Brooklyn woman is now suing Chanel because a ring she tried on got stuck on her finger. more ›

Yesterday, St. Vincent's Hospital announced, "We have issued termination (WARN) notices to all employees of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan today as required by state and federal law. The action came after the Board of Saint Vincent’s voted to close the hospital’s inpatient services and to seek a transfer of some or all of the outpatient services, after an effort to save the financially troubled 160-year old institution. Employees jobs will end based upon the needs of the hospital as it moves forward with an orderly and safe wind down of operations. The Board and management are extremely grateful for the dedication and professionalism of all St. Vincent employees, some of whom have been with us for decades, during this very difficult process." more ›

Yesterday, St. Vincent's announced that starting today, "St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan emergency department, in coordination with the NYS Department of Health and FDNY EMS, will be placed on permanent diversion of ambulances for all services except for behavioral health. The ED will remain fully functional with the ability to treat and admit all walk-in patients as needed.” Instead, ambulances will take patients to Beth-Israel, Roosevelt, NY Downtown or Bellevue. more ›

With the city's announcement yesterday that two more people died from swine flu, New Yorkers are still, naturally, worried about the swine flu. The NY Times visited Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, where "The hospital created a flu clinic in an area that usually accommodates patients who have been admitted and are waiting for a bed. It was filled on Tuesday with people in masks being evaluated for flu." An average May 2008 day in the Maimonides ER would have about 263 patients—on Monday, there was 480. The hospital's ER chairman said, "The consensus among these physicians is that the influenza is mild but the patients are unusually scared." more ›

In today's Times there's a bracing look at a day in the life of Dr. William Goldberg, the man calling the shots at the Bellevue Hospital E.R. on Mondays. "The E.R. is a window on society," said Dr. Goldberg. "Whatever troubles the city has, the underlying problems, we always see them here." By that measure, New York has some issues: "[His team] had a fairly average caseload for a Monday: a rectal bleed, a vaginal bleed, chest pains with anxiety and a forehead laceration...The chest pains case would refuse his medication. The rectal bleed would angrily demand that he be discharged...Three more stretchers would appear outside the door. Then the phone would ring: A head case was arriving. Seven minutes out. Dr. Goldberg would, at this point, permit himself a grin. 'O.K.,' he said — and the irony was deserved — 'at least it’s picking up.'" more ›

The daughter of the woman who was neglected in a hospital waiting room and died after being ignored by staffers has will sue the hospital, city and city's hospital agency for $25 million. more ›

After a surveillance video showed hospital staff ignoring a psychiatric patient's last dying hours in the emergency room of Kings County Hospital, city health officials say they will make a series of changes, like checking on patients every 15 minutes. more ›

A distressing video was released showing a 49-year-old psychiatric patient left to die in the waiting room of Kings County Hospital. The video shows the woman, identified as Esmin Green, slump and fall to the ground--and two guards and a doctor look in and ignore her. Finally, a nurse comes to check on her, but not before kicking Green, who was dead at that point. more ›

Passover, which begins tomorrow night, never passes by without a surge in emergency room traffic, according to one area physician. Dr. Tucker Woods, chairman at Long Island College Hospital’s emergency department, tells the Post he sees “an uptick in total patient volume during Passover.” more ›