![Workers Blame Inmate Influx For Injuries](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2013/10/ambulance11.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Workers Blame Inmate Influx For Injuries
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Workers at a Minnesota psychiatric hospital are being hurt more often in part due to a new law requiring state-run facilities to admit jail inmates.
Assault reports and workers' compensation claims have jumped this year at Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center.
Some staff say their workplace is no longer safe because of an influx of some violent inmates.
The Legislature passed a bill last year requiring that state-run psychiatric facilities accept inmates to stop jails from being dumping grounds for the mentally ill.
Since it took effect in July 2013, nearly 300 inmates have been moved to psychiatric hospitals like Anoka-Metro.
Jackie Spanjers, an Anoka-Metro nurse and local union president, says workers are putting their lives on the line.
The state's Department of Human Services may try to change the law.
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