LINCOLN — A new partnership between the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Lincoln Regional Center and the College of Saint Mary in Omaha seeks to train future mental health nursing professionals.

DHHS announced the new partnership Tuesday as a way to benefit college students with training and professional experience in a direct mental health setting. It will also provide the regional center with additional staff, where concerns have been raised in the past year about staffing levels, including from mental health technicians who protested over working conditions and safety.

Twenty-two students are enrolled for training at the center through the program, which began in late September.

Mitchell Bruening, hospital administrator of the regional center, said in a statement that his center is “thrilled” to have the college students involved. They will help adult patients with severe and persistent mental health challenges and their discharge plans.

“They are a tremendous asset to our team,” Bruening said of the students. “In the short time they have been at LRC, I have seen the students learn, treat all with dignity and serve Nebraskans with compassion.”

The Lincoln Regional Center is an accredited psychiatric hospital under The Joint Commission and operated by DHHS.

Allison Bartlett, talent acquisition director for DHHS, said that the nursing labor market is competitive and that DHHS is excited to work with the students and build the partnership.

Christi Glesmann, assistant dean for health sciences at the College of Saint Mary, said the partnership “reflects our shared commitment to providing care that honors the dignity and needs of every individual.”

“This collaboration offers tremendous opportunities for our nursing students to gain invaluable clinical experience while learning the importance of compassionate care,” Glesmann said in a statement. “Together, we are building a stronger nursing workforce that will positively impact the health and well-being of all Nebraskans and our Nebraska communities.”

More information on the College of Saint Mary’s nursing program is available at http://www.csm.edu/nursing.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-psychiatric-hospital-colleg...