From the
Omaha World-Herald. The Beatrice Center made
the news in February 2009 after deaths occurred there.
LINCOLN — The turmoil surrounding the troubled Beatrice State Developmental Center continued June 5, with the resignation of a top state official.
John Wyvill announced he would step down as director of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Developmental Disabilities Division. His last day is July 2.
He has been the division director since September 2007, overseeing both the state institution and community-based services for people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. The division has 980 employees.
In an e-mail to staff, Wyvill said that "after serving in state government for nearly 13 years, I am ready to pursue other opportunities." He did not elaborate.
Jen Rae Hein, Gov. Dave Heineman's press secretary, declined to comment on whether the governor had asked Wyvill to resign.
"I appreciate John's service and ongoing commitment to citizens with developmental disabilities, and I respect his decision to pursue other opportunities," Heineman said in a release.
HHS spokeswoman Jeanne Atkinson said Wyvill was not available to take questions. She said she did not know whether he had lined up another job.
Peg Huss of Omaha, whose brother lives at the Beatrice center, noted that Wyvill was one of three state officials who received votes of "no confidence" from a special legislative committee investigating problems at the center.
She said family members and friends of center residents had been hopeful about Wyvill's arrival, but their hopes were largely dashed.
"A lot of relatively negative things happened under his tenure," she said.
On his watch, continued care problems cost the center its federal Medicaid certification. The state expects to lose about $25 million worth of Medicaid funding for the center once an appeal is decided.
Earlier this year, the state's chief medical officer ordered all medically fragile residents out of the center after staff delays, oversights and treatment mistakes led to two deaths within a year. A total of 47 people were moved out to hospitals and nursing homes, prompting anger from parents and pointed questions from state senators.
Also during Wyvill's tenure, the state entered into an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, after a department investigation concluded that conditions and practices at the center violated residents' constitutional and legal rights.
The legislative committee's report, issued in December, called for Wyvill to be replaced along with Ron Stegemann, the top administrator at the center, and Chris Peterson, the chief executive officer for HHS.
Both Stegemann and Peterson have left those jobs.
State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha said the committee's investigation made it clear Wyvill was in "over his head." He had no experience in developmental disabilities or in handling an organization as troubled as Beatrice.
"I never had questions about his commitment or his concern about the people he was charged with caring for," Lathrop said. "I wish him well."
Wyvill's departure creates a leadership void at the Beatrice center. The institution has been without a permanent administrator since December. It is being managed by an interim CEO, Claire Mahon, who was originally contracted to help the facility regain Medicaid certification.
HHS, the largest state agency has been without a CEO since January. Wyvill becomes the second HHS division director to leave this year.
A lawyer, Wyvill was commissioner of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services for six years. He later directed the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. He was vice president and general counsel of a consulting firm when he got the Nebraska job.
From the Omaha World-Herald. The Beatrice Center made the news in February 2009 after deaths occurred there.
