Douglas County begins construction of jail mental health expansion

OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) – Douglas County authorities are calling this a step toward breaking the cycle of those who end up in prison due to mental health issues.

On Tuesday, the groundbreaking ceremony for the extension of the future psychiatric facility to the district prison took place.

This 35,000-square-foot facility is designed to provide services to inmates who are suicidal, suffering from psychosis or schizophrenia, or other serious mental illnesses.

It will be built over the fenced parking lot right next to the county jail and will have 80 beds. Services will include counseling and drug treatment.

Mike Myers, director of the Douglas County Department of Corrections, said this comes at a crucial time: For the second month in a row, more than 50 percent of inmates have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

In addition, the number of inmates requiring suicide prevention and opioid and alcohol withdrawal treatment has nearly doubled in the last three years.

That's no surprise to County Commissioner Mary Ann Borgeson, who said efforts to build the facility peaked after the state's health care reform in the early 2000s.

“We started talking about how closing these facilities would lead to an increase in the number of mentally ill people coming into our prisons,” Borgeson said. And that's exactly what happened.”

Myers said the new facilities will allow his staff to better treat these inmates and provide better care for the other inmates housed there.

“By moving our patients who are on suicide prevention and withdrawal protocols to a safer and more therapeutic environment, we can not only stabilize them more effectively, but our medical team can also focus more on our medically fragile population,” Myers said.

He added that this would also increase the safety of prison staff.

The aim is also to provide prisoners with continuous long-term care after their release in order to reduce the number of prisoners who end up back in prison.

“Hopefully we can not only stabilize them while they are incarcerated, but also provide them with continued care so that they are doing well after they are released,” Myers said.

The $34 million project is funded entirely by ARPA funds.

Corrections expects to complete the project by the end of 2026.

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