LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Mental health professionals at the Lincoln Regional Center are escalating calls for change after raising awareness about their working conditions at Nebraska’s psychiatric hospital.
The specialists, or techs, rallied outside the governor’s mansion Saturday and regrouped on the north steps of the state Capitol to meet with state Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, who has been one of the few state officials to address their concerns.
Jennifer Head, a technician for about four years, described a patient’s assault on two technicians last week after about 3 a.m. The patient, who hadn’t had any behavioural problems since he’d been at the facility, attacked a woman in her 60s or 70s.
“He attacked her, kicking her like she was a football,” Head said.
The patient then ran to another staff member and slammed her head into a wall. There were three women on the shift, Head said, and the assault happened shortly after a male staff member left because the patient had been watching.
It wasn’t until one of the three women ran to a male patient and asked for help that the situation ended, Head added. She said it was sad that staff had to feel comfortable asking patients for help.
‘It’s about not getting hurt’
The workers, just under a dozen of whom rallied, said it’s conditions like this that are alarming.
Yvette Olivetti, a union representative for the technicians, said they’re rallying because of the state’s inaction, including calls for the Department of Administrative Services to hire more technicians.
“Words are meaningless unless they’re backed up by action, and this will show the techs that they actually care about our safety, our well-being, our own mental health and various other issues,” Olivetti added.
Several of the workers described other conditions that need to be addressed, including the loss of a 45-minute break window (now at 30 minutes) and the hiring of more staff to reduce mandatory overtime shifts. Staff are already working overtime to make up the shortfall, they said, because if they don’t want to, they are obliged to.
Every worker present described working at least some overtime almost every week, with regular 12- or 16-hour shifts. Many have been working these shifts since they started at the Regional Centre, but they said it’s gotten worse this year.
Scott Madsen, who has worked as a technician for about 4.5 years, said that while there are many problems, the main concern is safety. It’s hard to say what the full impact of improving working conditions could be, he added, and how many dangerous incidents could be prevented.
“All the other stuff, I mean, yeah, that’s fine,” Madsen told the Nebraska Examiner. “But it’s about not getting hurt.”
‘Slap in the face’
Then-interim Department of Health and Human Services CEO Bo Botelho responded to Blood on 8 September, detailing what he called “inaccuracies” in Blood’s letter. He offered few details on how the department would address the workers’ concerns.
Assaults are not at an elevated level, Botelho wrote, and “while one incident is too many,” there were 33 incidents at level 2 or 3 this year as of August 30. That’s a 24% decrease from the same period last year, Botelho said.
Assaults on LRC staff rose from 51 in 2021 to 93 last year.
Aymar Dossou, who has worked as a technician for nearly two years, said workers feel they’ve exhausted their options for recourse and the responses they receive are “gaslighting”.
Olivetti said the data they’re being given is incomplete and “doesn’t match what we live as technicians in this plant”.
“It’s kind of a slap in the face to us because we know the reality of the job,” Olivetti said.
A DHHS spokesperson said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner on Friday that discussions with Regional Centre staff are ongoing.
“The department is committed to continuing these ongoing discussions and improving both the mental health services provided and the officer experience at the Lincoln Regional Center,” the statement said.
‘It’s not in us’ to walk away
Despite the challenges, workers choose to stay because it’s rewarding and because they want to care for patients, said Roxana Mora, a technician for about 1.5 years.
Head said it’s a good feeling to spend her days with the patients, building rapport and relationships, and knowing that the patients can come and talk to the staff. It’s more time than she gets to spend with her son, who was also at the rally.
As an example, Head said one patient was in the yard on Friday and refused to get up, but Head’s relationship with the patient made the difference as he ignored four or five other staff.
“It’s not going to happen all the time, but to walk away [from the LRC], it’s not in us,” Head said.
We don’t ask for the moon’
Yeon Choi, a technician for four years, said her “worst day” at work was when there were only two staff on a ward with 19 patients. With the other worker in the bathroom, Choi walked the corridor alone, wondering what would happen if a patient overpowered her.
Blood said the workers shouldn’t underestimate the importance of their advocacy and encouraged them to keep fighting, keep a paper trail for possible legal action, and set up a meeting with Lancaster County District Attorney Pat Condon to discuss further.
“We’re not asking for the moon,” said Dossou. “We just want to be safe.”
