BHECN Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Grows by 34 Percent

A 34% Surge Across the Plains

“That number is proof that intentional investment works,” said Alyssa Spartz, workforce expansion manager for the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, pointing to a stark metric that has quietly reshaped care across the state’s sprawling plains. Since the center’s founding in 2010, Nebraska’s rural behavioral health workforce has grown by 34%.

That expansion did not happen by chance. Headquartered at UNMC, the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska relies on an infrastructure of six geographic sites covering all 93 counties in the state. From Chadron to Omaha, these localized hubs are building the pipelines necessary to recruit, train, and retain mental health professionals in areas where a single provider might cover miles.

Rooted in Rural Communities

Building a resilient workforce in rural Nebraska demands far more than dropping individual clinicians into remote towns. It requires intentional pathways into the profession, dense professional networks, and deep roots within the communities providers are asked to serve. Those relationships take time to cultivate, and they rarely succeed when managed exclusively from a central office.

A Statewide Footprint Across Six Regions

The six geographic sites—designated as Central, East, Northeast, Panhandle, Southeast, and Southwest—provide a statewide footprint while staying anchored to local needs. Site directors and co-directors operate directly out of Chadron, Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte, Omaha, and Rushville. Each site aligns with one of the state’s six Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Regions, giving local leaders the autonomy to tailor programs to their specific populations.

Combating Isolation on the Ground

Operating across vast distances requires boots-on-the-ground engagement. In the Panhandle, where the drive between neighboring towns can stretch for hours, the local BHECN site acts as a vital connector.

“This means going where providers already are, not waiting for them to come to you,” said Denise Pecha, BHECN’s associate director for network initiatives. “Making these connections can reduce professional isolation and help improve job satisfaction and retention.”

That active presence helps combat the professional isolation that often drives clinicians away from rural practices.

Uniform Resources with Local Flexibility

Over the past two years, the organization has worked to streamline its operations. BHECN has moved its sites toward a uniform operating structure, ensuring that a student or clinician who relocates from one region of Nebraska to another encounters the same core resources and opportunities. At the same time, each site preserves the flexibility to design specialized programming tailored to its specific needs.

Crediting the Providers on the Front Lines

None of this localized momentum would exist without the dedication of the clinicians already embedded in these communities. Marley Doyle, MD, director of BHECN, emphasized that the backbone of the system remains the providers themselves.

“This is hard work, and it takes a certain kind of dedication to show up for your community every single day, especially in places where you might be the only behavioral health provider for miles,” Doyle said. “The sites exist to support that work, but the credit belongs to the providers who are already doing it—day in, day out—in the communities they call home.”

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