The Lincoln Regional Center was first established in 1869, just outside the capital city. It treats adults with mental illnesses, and those committed for being not responsible for committing a crime due to a mental illness, at several buildings on a campus just southwest of the city. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker has ramped up her plea to Gov. Jim Pillen, requesting that he act quickly to improve “worsening” safety conditions for workers at the state psychiatric hospital.
Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, in a letter sent Wednesday to Pillen, said the safety of patients and staff at the Lincoln Regional Center is “completely compromised.”
State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue addresses workers from the Lincoln Regional Center on the steps of the Nebraska State Capitol on Oct. 21, 2023, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Blood noted that the perpetrator of the Sonic shooting, who killed two people and injured two others in her community in 2020, is now a patient at the center. She said staffers tell her that Roberto Silva Jr. must have an escort crew of seven staff members to go anywhere in the facility.