Residents and Staff Urge Oversight After Bert Nash Layoffs; Workers Describe Abrupt Terminations

Dozens of current and former employees, union representatives and clients told the Board of Douglas County Commissioners on May 28 that sudden layoffs at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center have disrupted services and left staff and families scrambling.

Speakers at the public-comment portion of the meeting described an agency-wide announcement that resulted in the layoff of 29 staff members on May 23. Staff and union representatives said the layoffs were abrupt, provided little or no notice or severance, and reduced health-insurance coverage to a seven-business-day continuation for many employees.

“Personal vanity projects of leadership have no place here,” said Mike Harold, a supportive housing case manager at Bert Nash, accusing executive leadership of management decisions that contributed to the center’s financial problems. “Employees report ... the EHR not being able to submit billing properly” and “messy implementation of an expensive AI program,” Harold added, describing internal concerns that he said were not addressed before layoffs occurred.

Mikaela Reed, a current Bert Nash case manager, told the commission that the layoffs…