BHECN launches East Site to address Omaha-area workforce challenges

The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska has launched its BHECN East Site at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Grace Abbott School of Social Work.

The new East Site gives BHECN an office that primarily focuses on the behavioral health workforce needs of the Omaha-area while allowing BHECN’s office on the UNMC Omaha campus to serve as the headquarters of the center’s statewide operations, said BHECN Director Marley Doyle, MD.

“As our state’s largest urban area, Omaha and its surrounding communities have unique behavioral health workforce needs that require considerable focus and effort to address,” Dr. Doyle said. “Having the BHECN East office will enable us to have a team specifically focused on meeting those needs.”

The East Site is BHECN’s fourth site, joining the BHECN Central Site at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, which launched in 2015, the BHECN Panhandle Site, which started at Chadron State College in 2019, and BHECN Northeast, which launched at Wayne State College in 2023. BHECN plans to open additional sites in southwest Nebraska and southeast Nebraska in the near future, Dr. Doyle said.

BHECN’s longstanding collaboration and work with the Grace Abbott School of Social Work makes it a natural fit to house the East Site, Dr. Doyle said. That sentiment was echoed by Susan Reay, EdD, director and associate professor at the Grace Abbott School of Social Work.

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with BHECN in this important endeavor,” Dr. Reay said. “Omaha is our largest city, and it’s exciting to be able to work with our longstanding partners to help lead the effort to address the area’s most pressing workforce challenges.”

One area of emphasis for BHECN East will be to increase the representation of underserved populations in the Omaha-area’s behavioral health workforce, said Ciara Warden, director of BHECN East.

To do this, BHECN East will work with community partners, including the Omaha Public Schools, to create more pathways into behavioral health careers, Warden said.

Another key area of emphasis for BHECN East will be to build and grow relationships with the Omaha-area organizations that received support as part of BHECN’s American Rescue Plan Act awards program, Warden said.

“There are several groups in the area that received awards and cultivating relationships with these awardees has major positive ramifications for those who live in our area and beyond,” Warden said.

Having a BHECN site located within UNO’s College of Public Affairs and Community Service is a significant step forward in the college’s commitment to community engagement and service, said Gaylene Armstrong, PhD, the college’s dean.

“This collaboration allows us to leverage our academic and community resources to directly address the behavioral health needs of the Omaha area,” she said. “By integrating BHECN’s expertise with our educational mission, we are not only enhancing the workforce but also fostering stronger partnerships that will benefit our community.”

The BHECN East site officially opened in July. A formal opening event will be held on Friday, Nov. 1, at the Grace Abbott School of Social Work on the UNO campus. More details about that event will be announced soon.