Nurse-assault suspect Omid Zar of Long Beach has bedside hearing 

A patient at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside who was arrested after allegedly striking a nurse “multiple times” had a bedside arraignment Tuesday on an assault charge, authorities said.

About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Omid Zar, 53, “became violent with hospital staff and hit a nurse multiple times in the abdomen causing substantial pain,” police said in a news release Monday night.

Police were called and arrived after midnight Sunday, police said. Zar was arrested without incident and charged with second-degree assault, according to the release.

Zar pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his bedside arraignment at Mount Sinai. His bail was set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond, according to court records. He was assigned an unspecified attorney through Legal Aid. 

Hospital officials, citing privacy rules, could not comment on the reason for Zar's hospitalization.

In an emailed statement to Newsday late Monday, hospital officials said: “The nurse is in good condition. The safety of our staff and patients is our No. 1 priority. We take these incidents extremely seriously and will not tolerate violence, verbal or physical, at Mount Sinai South Nassau.”

With John Asbury

CORRECTION: The name of Omid Zar was misspelled in the headline of a previous version of this story.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.