Mosaic, a private church-related agency that operates programs for people with developmental disabilities, will create residential services for 66 people, based on a contract with the state.

The 11 five- and six-bed homes will have at least some medical services, according to a news release.

But none will be built in Lincoln; they’ll go up in Omaha, Grand Island, Norfolk, Columbus and York, communities where Mosaic already operates.

The Mosaic homes are part of the state’s plan to care for people deemed medically fragile who have been moved from the Beatrice State Developmental Center to local hospitals.

Nineteen of them were moved to Lincoln hospitals, and some parents expected to see a home for people with medical needs developed in Lincoln.

“I am devastated. … I was counting on that,” said Joan O’Meara, whose daughter Cindy is one of 47 BSDC residents moved to local hospitals since February.

“I was under the impression that they (Mosaic) were going to build one for some of the people now in the Lincoln hospitals,” she said.

Lincoln has no small homes licensed as Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded, and there are no negotiations to create any, said state Health and Human Services spokeswoman Jeanne Atkinson.

“It is possible we would be working with other providers in the future,” she said.

During the next 2 1/2 years, Mosaic will open six six-bed homes offering intermediate care for people who are mentally disabled and five six-bed homes licensed as a Center for Developmental Disabilities. Four homes are expected to be open within 12 months, according to the news release.

Each home will have a minimum of eight hours of medical support services, and some will have 24-hour nursing staff.

The first homes likely will be developed where Mosaic already owns land, in Grand Island, Omaha and Columbus, said Mosaic Regional Vice President Tammy Westfall.

Mosaic, which operates a larger institution for people with developmental disabilities in Beatrice, is affiliated with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and provides services to more than 830 people with developmental disabilities in 11 Nebraska communities. It operates in 14 states.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.