Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A watchdog group that advocates for the developmentally disabled is pressuring Nebraska state leaders to look into the care at the troubled state-run Beatrice State Developmental Center, according to the Fremont Tribune.

Three deaths that occurred in three weeks on the same floor of the 240-bed home for the developmentally disabled have raised the suspicions of Nebraska Advocacy Group. “This demands an immediate response, not a promise to do something in the future. They’ve had a history of un-kept promises,” Nebraska Advocacy Group litigation director Bruce Mason told the newspaper.

The group sent a letter last week to state leaders including Gov. Dave Heineman. They have yet to get an answer. In the letter, the group recommended that the state make arrangements to have residents treated at Omaha hospitals or by medical professionals.

The Gage County Attorney’s office is investigating the three deaths for any criminal wrongdoing. But the advocacy group wants the investigation to go further. The group wants to know a cause of death and establish liability in hopes of preventing more deaths in the future.

A U.S. Justice Department investigation revealed that about 200 cases of abuse and neglect have been reported at the Beatrice home since 2006. It concluded that the center had a “cultural undercurrent that betrays human decency at the most fundamental levels.”

The problems at the state-run home now put Nebraska in jeopardy of losing its certification and thus $29 million in federal funding. To keep the federal government from pulling the certification, the state appealed the feds decision. A ruling is expected this summer. Meantime, Gov. Heineman is proposing spending $17 million to improve problems areas at the center and get it back up to par so that keep the federal funds.

If the home loses its funding, state officials may role to shut the center down all together.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 4:27 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.