Nebraska Prisons Much of Mental Health Care

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska correctional officer says that prisons have become mental health facilities because many inmates need treatment.

About 56 percent of people in Nebraska jails had at least one mental health diagnosis at the end of last year. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, inmates with severe mental illness account for 16% of the prison population.

"We probably have more mental patients in the prison system than anywhere else," said Dr. Harbans Deol, deputy director of health services for Nebraska's Department of Corrections.

Deol said that prisons have more mental health beds than psychiatric hospitals.

Nebraska's jails have a 30-bed secure mental health housing unit for the severely mentally ill. The Lincoln Correctional Center mental health unit has nearly 75 beds for less serious patients. Other prisons also have mental health beds, including 15 at the Center for Diagnosis and Assessment, 12 at the Tecumseh State Correctional Facility and 12 beds at the Women's Prison. from York.

Each inmate gets mental health assessments and physical exams within 14 days of arrival and then is assigned to a level of care, Deol said. People with a history of mental illness, hospitalization or self-injury are referred to a psychiatrist for further assessment.

Nebraska's prisons have struggled in the past to have enough mental health providers, but they now have three full-time psychiatrists, two full-time nurse practitioners, and two part-time psychiatrists. The prisons also have 19 psychologists, 23 licensed mental health practitioners and six supervisors.

The correctional services agency is currently training inmates at the Nebraska Penitentiary to participate in peer support programs. The department also teaches duty staff to look for inmate mental health symptoms so that assessments can be completed.

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com