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Sandra Ham panicked earlier this year when she heard the U.S. Department of Justice found abuse and neglect at the Beatrice State Developmental Center, where her 23-year-old son has lived for six years.
But after she made some calls and did some research, the Lincoln woman is convinced the center is the best place for her son, Ian, who is autistic and struggled in group homes for 3 1/2 years before he moved to the center.
Ham testified Thursday in Lincoln before a legislative committee set up to investigate problems at the hospital, which is home to 267 developmentally disabled people.
The Justice Department investigation uncovered about 200 cases of alleged neglect and abuse at the hospital from late 2006 to late 2007. More than half of the cases have been substantiated.
Federal investigators discovered allegations that staff members shoved patients, called them names and played demeaning games. Staff members reportedly slept during shifts, leaving patients in clothing soaked with urine.
A former resident, 60-year-old Nancy Webb, told senators she lived at the Beatrice center from age 5 to 27 and was treated badly. Webb said she was spanked, wasn’t paid for work and lived in a dormitory with 20 other women. Now, 30 years later, she lives with a family in Omaha, has friends and works at a kennel caring for dogs.
“I don’t want to ever go back to Beatrice again,” Webb said. “Beatrice is not a good place for anyone.”
In June, the state agreed to a settlement with the Justice Department that helped Nebraska avoid prosecution or financial penalties. The state Department of Health and Human Services agreed to several measures to improve service at the center. An independent expert will make regular visits to verify conditions are improving.
The state is trying to move people into community-based programs to help relieve staffing problems, and some patient advocates want the center closed altogether.
Ham and other guardians of patients object strenuously, saying their children and siblings can’t be cared for by community-based services.
But Patty McGill Smith told senators guardians opposed to the center closing are dealing with a host of emotions, including worries about whether they made the right decision by placing their family members at the center.
McGill Smith, whose 38-year-old daughter Jane is autistic, is past president of The Arc of Nebraska, which works with people who have developmental disabilities.
The Beatrice center has likely offered a place of hope for family members desperate for help, she said.
But times have changed, McGill Smith said, and it’s time to stop institutionalizing people.
McGill Smith shares an Omaha house with her daughter, who receives services there.
Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha said he’s not convinced there’s no place for the Beatrice center.
“There are some people that are at such a safety risk that we cannot find a place in the community for them,” he told McGill Smith.
A committee report, due back to the Legislature in December, is expected to lead to legislation that would address problems at Beatrice and the broader challenge of serving developmentally disabled people.
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