York County hears PACE, Region 5 reports on developmental- and behavioral-health services, bed-capacity pilot

York County commissioners on May 13 heard annual reports from PACE and Region 5 Systems that outlined the scale of developmental-disability and behavioral-health services in the region and announced a pilot to expand emergency protective custody (EPC) bed days by contracting with additional hospitals.

PACE CEO Matt Hasek told the board that PACE is the largest provider in the state for developmental-disability services in southeast Nebraska, supporting "about 710 individuals" and employing roughly 760 staff plus shared-living providers. "We serve 37 people here in York County," Hasek said, and he noted the organization is "94% funded by Medicaid." Hasek said PACE updated its bylaws and interlocal agreement and will ask the county to adopt a revised interlocal agreement when it is placed on the board agenda.

Patrick Kreifels, regional administrator for Region 5 Systems Behavioral Health Authority, reviewed regional funding and crisis-response figures and outlined proposed changes to increase bed access. He provided county-match figures included in the board packet and said the requested county match decreased about 8% year-to-year while Region 5 reduced its additional match ask by roughly 38% through internal efficiencies.

Kreifels told commissioners that, for York County specifically, Region 5 recorded 29 crisis-response activations and 18 emergency-protective-custody placements in fiscal year 2023-24. On bed capacity, he said Lancaster Countycurrently operates 16 crisis-center beds and that Lancaster dedicates roughly $1 million and Region 5 another $1 million to that capacity, with payers covering the remaining share. "If I take 16 beds times 365 bed days," Kreifels explained, "that would give you 5,840 bed-day options." Contracting with Mary Lanning and Fremont would add 368 bed days under a pilot model, bringing the system total in his example to about 6,208 bed days; Region 5 is aiming for the pilot to begin July 1 if contracts can be finalized.

Kreifels also described a legislative development: "Senator Quick introduced LB 454, which would remove the public-bidding requirement for us to contract out services and would allow some documentary stamp tax funds to be used for housing for individuals with substance use, not just mental health." He said LB 454 had cleared a committee and advanced on the legislative calendar.

Commissioners asked about the pilot's scale and how bed-day math translates to daily availability. Kreifels said the pilot expands options and is intended to provide overflow and geographic access rather than guarantee availability on any single day. He said Region 5 will send interlocal documents and a return-on-investment estimate for York County.

Why it matters: commissioners were presented with concrete local service counts, funding balances and a near-term operational change that could affect how law enforcement and courts place individuals needing protective custody. The pilot and the interlocal paperwork will determine whether York County residents see increased in-region bed access for behavioral-health crises.

Next steps: Region 5 will circulate interlocal agreements for signature and provide an ROI estimate; the pilot bed arrangement is contingent on executed contracts and is planned to begin July 1 if agreements are reached.