Dozens of Bert Nash employees, clients left reeling after abrupt layoffs; residents urge county oversight

At the May 28, 2025 meeting of the Board of Douglas County Commissioners, more than a dozen current and former employees of Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and allied community members delivered testimony urging county oversight after the center announced a round of abrupt layoffs and declared an economic exigency.

Speakers described sudden terminations that left direct-service staff unable to provide final sessions or transition plans for clients, and they said the cuts have immediate effects on children and other high‑risk patients. “We estimate that at least 488 clients were directly affected by these layoffs,” said Mikaela Reid, a case manager. “Providers were unable to speak with their clients, some of them children, and explain what was happening.”

Public comment at a Douglas County Commission meeting is an early public airing of concerns that many people said go beyond human resources decisions to questions of financial management and service continuity. The testimonies included allegations that leadership had adopted expensive technology and other initiatives without sufficient transparency and that layoffs were executed without the 30‑day notices or severance some employees expected.

Mul…