(855) 286-9246. MELISSA SAMANTHA. THANK YOU. MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH RIGHT NOW. NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SAYS THAT ITS DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH IS IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S ANNA BEHNING DIVES INTO THE GROWING ISSUE. TOGETHER. IT’S MORE THAN JUST A WORD. IT’S THE APPROACH AGENCIES ACROSS NEBRASKA ARE TAKING TO FIGHT A CRISIS THAT’S NOT LETTING UP. THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH CONTINUES TO GROW. HOW DO WE IMPROVE THE WHOLE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY? ACCORDING TO NAMI, THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS, 257,000 ADULTS IN NEBRASKA DEAL WITH MENTAL HEALTH. THAT’S MORE THAN FIVE TIMES THE POPULATION OF GRAND ISLAND. COMMUNITY ALLIANCE CEO EILEEN BRADY SAYS THEIR AGENCY PRIORITIZES ACCESS TO CARE. IF CUMING ALLIANCE WASN’T ABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT WE DO, THERE WOULD BE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY SUFFERING. IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO OUR COMMUNITY. THERE’S NO QUESTION IN MY MIND, ABOUT 95% OF NEBRASKA COUNTIES ARE DESIGNATED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH CAPACITY, WITH CARE LACKING AND BEDS FILLED. IF WE CAN HAVE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY, MANY PEOPLE, MOST. I’M NOT SAYING ALL, BUT MOST PEOPLE CAN BE SERVED IN THE COMMUNITY. TRAINING, STAFFING AND FINANCING ALL PLAY INTO THE CARE CRISIS. THIS IS WHERE SEVEN PROVIDERS IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS COME IN, EMPHASIZING NINE CORE SERVICES. DOCTOR THOMAS JANOUSEK, DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, PINPOINTS THE GOAL BEHIND THE CLINIC MODEL, SAYING, QUOTE, IT FOCUSES ON REDUCING ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS, MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE CHALLENGES THAT PEOPLE FACE. THEY DON’T DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AND THEY DON’T GO AWAY OVERNIGHT. BRADY SAYS WITH MENTAL HEALTH, THE RESPONSIBILITY RESTS ON BOTH THE PATIENT AND THE PROVIDER. IT’S MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR EACH OF THE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT YOU PROVIDE. AND THEN AND THEN IT REALLY IS FOLLOWING THROUGH THE SEVEN CLINICS IN NEBRASKA AIM TO BE FULLY OPERATIONAL BY JANUAR
Making mental health care more accessible
Seven certified community behavioral health clinics are set to open by January 2026.
Updated: 8:41 AM CDT May 24, 2025
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health is currently working with providers to make mental health care more accessible. The plan is to define care by certifying providers as certified community behavioral health clinics. By January 2026, seven clinics will be up and running in Nebraska. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 257,000 adults in Nebraska have a mental health condition. Eighty-eight out of 93 counties are designated mental health professions shortage areas. The average wait time for patients admitted to the Lincoln Regional Center psychiatric hospital from May 12, 2025, to May 18, 2025, was 55 days. The mental health crisis is not only growing, but care is becoming harder to access with beds to the max and a lack of staffing. Aileen Brady, CEO of Community Alliance, said, “We need the hospitals. We need the longer term for people who do not compensate. We need that for their own safety.” Dr. Thomas Janousek, director of the Division of Behavioral Health, said the CCHBC model “focuses on reducing administrative barriers for providers, which ultimately results in better care for the individuals it serves.” To learn more about CCHBCs: Certified community behavioral health clinicsIf you need care, find help at: Community AllianceIf you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health is currently working with providers to make mental health care more accessible. The plan is to define care by certifying providers as certified community behavioral health clinics. By January 2026, seven clinics will be up and running in Nebraska.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 257,000 adults in Nebraska have a mental health condition.
Eighty-eight out of 93 counties are designated mental health professions shortage areas.
The average wait time for patients admitted to the Lincoln Regional Center psychiatric hospital from May 12, 2025, to May 18, 2025, was 55 days.
The mental health crisis is not only growing, but care is becoming harder to access with beds to the max and a lack of staffing. Aileen Brady, CEO of Community Alliance, said, “We need the hospitals. We need the longer term for people who do not compensate. We need that for their own safety.”
Dr. Thomas Janousek, director of the Division of Behavioral Health, said the CCHBC model “focuses on reducing administrative barriers for providers, which ultimately results in better care for the individuals it serves.”
To learn more about CCHBCs: Certified community behavioral health clinics
If you need care, find help at: Community Alliance
If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |