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Lincoln detox program may lose funding, state license

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A decades-old detox program in Lincoln could be forced to close if it loses its funding and state license for locking intoxicated people in rooms.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that The Bridge Behavioral Health's detox program often locks very intoxicated individuals in a treatment room after they're brought in by Lincoln police.

State officials say the program cannot receive national accreditation if individuals are initially placed in locked rooms, which means it'll lose reimbursement funding.

The nonprofit would need to remodel and hire more staff in order to swap its locked-door policy for another approach.

Police bring more than 3,600 people a year to The Bridge for involuntary detoxification. It could cost the county another $1.5 million to jail those formerly in the detox program.

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