A new partnership between the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Lincoln Regional Center and the College of Saint Mary in Omaha aims to train future mental health nursing professionals while addressing staffing needs at the psychiatric hospital.
The collaboration, announced Tuesday by DHHS, enrolls twenty-two students in training at the center through a program that began in late September. Students work with adult patients experiencing severe and persistent mental health challenges and assist with discharge planning. Mitchell Bruening, hospital administrator of the regional center, said in a statement that the students “are a tremendous asset to our team” and that “in the short time they have been at LRC, I have seen the students learn, treat all with dignity and serve Nebraskans with compassion.”
Addressing Workforce Challenges
The partnership responds to ongoing staffing concerns at Lincoln Regional Center, where mental health technicians have protested over working conditions and safety in the past year. Allison Bartlett, talent acquisition director for DHHS, noted that “the nursing labor market is competitive” and expressed DHHS’s enthusiasm for working with the students and building the partnership.
Educational Opportunity
The Lincoln Regional Center, first established in 1869 just outside Lincoln, is an accredited psychiatric hospital under The Joint Commission and treats adults with mental illnesses and those committed for being not responsible for committing a crime due to a mental illness. Christi Glesmann, assistant dean for health sciences at the College of Saint Mary, said the partnership “reflects our shared commitment to providing care that honors the dignity and needs of every individual.” She added that the collaboration “offers tremendous opportunities for our nursing students to gain invaluable clinical experience while learning the importance of compassionate care” and stated that “together, we are building a stronger nursing workforce that will positively impact the health and well-being of all Nebraskans and our Nebraska communities.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-psychiatric-hospital-college-of-saint-mary-partner-to-train-mental-health-professionals/