Advocacy group cites abuse, neglect at Beatrice center

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By JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

Indifference by state officials continues to result in serious injuries and failures to properly take care of residents at the Beatrice State Development Center, a state advocacy group said Wednesday.

“This must become an urgent priority for state officials,” said Tim Shaw, CEO of Nebraska Advocacy Services. “We say, and it’s time for the public to say, ‘enough.’”

A report by Nebraska Advocacy Services, released Wednesday, says that since 2001 officials have failed to meet accepted standards of care, which has spiraled into an atmosphere of chaos and violence at the center, which houses more than 300 people with developmental disabilities and mental illness.

Persistent staff shortages are a huge problem at the center.

The report showed that for nine months, beginning in January, officials at the center investigated 200 abuse and neglect incidents, including bone fractures in 22 residents. Eighty-six were substantiated, resulting in 209 staff suspensions.

The report, based on reviews of federal surveys of the institution, incident and investigation reports, observations and staff interviews by Nebraska Advocacy Services staff members, identified “a relentless series of … reports of serious harm and ineffectiveness in response to the needs of Beatrice State Development Center residents.”

The center has been cited numerous times by federal regulating agencies in the past several years for deplorable conditions for residents, including staffing shortages, failure to investigate and report allegations of abuse and neglect, inadequate supervision, and failure to implement behavior management plans.

Federal regulations require these types of facilities to protect people in their care from harm and abuse, provide adequate staffing and to reduce dependence on drugs and physical restraints.

Shaw said state officials continue to violate the legal rights of residents and they continue to be at risk of harm.

They don’t have adequate treatment and aren’t learning skills to help them become self sufficient.

“It is not acceptable that these failures have been known and tolerated for years by state officials who have the responsibility to protect (and enable) … the residents at BSDC,” the report said.

The report said the staff shortages — 106 last week — impact the safety and needs of residents. Over 100 direct care staff positions go unfilled each week.

Direct care staff members are working massive amounts of overtime and double shifts, Shaw said. A harmful environment has been created by inadequate numbers of minimally trained staff and a greater number of residents with greater behavioral problems. And without proper treatment, behaviors worsen.

The center “is staffed by many dedicated individuals who are genuinely concerned for the well-being of the residents in their care,” Shaw said. “However the evidence is unequivocal that they are underpaid, undertrained and overworked by state officials.”

The agency has offered recommendations to address the conditions at the center. They include:

-- Create a culture of respect and valuing of all people.

-- Model programs on principles of consistent, positive reinforcement.

-- Do comprehensive evaluations and assessments for all residents.

-- Prepare a timeline to significantly reduce the current population by placing residents into appropriate community settings.

-- Raise pay substantially for direct care and professional staff.

-- Provide adequate behavior management training for staff.

-- Create an oversight committee by the Legislature.

-- Create a section of civil rights enforcement in HHS to protect the rights of residents at all of the state’s residential facilities.

State leaders said last week they hope to reduce the number of people at the state institution in response to continued staffing shortages and federal investigations. They do not plan to close the institution but were unsure how many people might be at the center in future years.

The state intends to: assess clients to determine whether they can be placed in community programs; provide an on-campus pilot program to help clients transition to community care; improve recruitment and retention by overhauling the new employee orientation program, enhance employee recognition award programs and begin a leadership development training institute; and redirect resources through a campus-wide review of programs, moving the thrift shop into the community and assessing the Beatrice State Developmental Center hospital.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.