County Administrator Domonic Novelli will be placed at the hospital's campus. Watch video
PARAMUS -- County Administrator Dominic Novelli will be placed in charge of monitoring management at Bergen Regional Medical Center after reports of frequent assaults at the hospital, The Record reported.
County Counsel Director Julien Neals will take over as acting county administrator. President Barack Obama nominated Neals as a U.S. District Judge in February 2015, but the Senate has yet to take action.
Part of Novelli's role will be to ensure a smooth transition for new management once the 19-year contract of the current operator runs out in March, Tedesco said.
There have been hundreds of assaults at the hospital in the past three years, including sexual assaults of children as young as 6 and beatings of staff by mentally ill patients according to the Record. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations in September saying the hospital failed to protect employees from violence.
A new contract will give the county more oversight over the hospital, Tedesco said.
The union representing nurses and other health professionals at Bergen Regional plans to vote Friday to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with management. The current agreement ends May 31.
Health, safety and staffing had been key concerns for leaders of the local chapter of Health Professionals and Allied Employees in negotiations, but union leaders said management resisted changes until media reports about the assaults. Details of the agreement were not released, but Jeff Peck, local president for HPAE, said union leaders believed the contract would "give healthcare workers the tools they need to make sure our facility is safe for patients and workers."
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.