State Sen. Carol Blood calls on Gov Pillen to respond to what she decribes as a “dire situation” at Lincoln Regional Center

Read Sen Blood’s letter to Gov Pillen here

(Lincoln, Neb.  Aug. 28. 2023)  As a result of numerous complaints from Lincoln Reginal Center  (LRC) staff, Nebraska State Senator Carol Blood, who represents District 3 in the legislature,  sent a letter today to Governor Jim Pillen requesting his immediate attention.

LRC is a 250-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital in Lincoln that is operated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. It serves those who need specialized psychiatric services and provides services to people who, because of mental illness, require a highly structured treatment setting.

Safety issues at LRC include workers being assaulted by patients with little to no recourse. There has been an uptick in patients assaulting other patients. Other issues include mental health technicians being forced to work mandatory overtime, with shifts that have averaged up to 16 hours and often lasting up to 24 hours.

 “Your office has known about the talks of protest amongst Mental Health Specialists since at least late July of 2023 as your office called LRC to ask why techs were organizing to protest,” Blood said in the letter.  “I ask of you now Governor Pillen, why did you and your office not take on these issues sooner?”

Blood said it is now time for Pillen to take action.

“This is the time for appropriate oversight and greater transparency to Nebraskans and is an opportunity for you to lead on these troubling Issues,” Blood said.