In 1948, the state of Nebraska authorized a partnership between state hospitals and the University of Nebraska College of Medicine for teaching and treatment purposes, creating the Nebraska Psychiatric Unit at Douglas County Hospital at 42^nd and Woolworth Streets in Omaha. Cecil L. Wittson, MD, was brought on as the director of the Nebraska Psychiatric Unit in 1950 and simultaneously appointed the director of mental health by the State Board of Control. This appointment charged Dr. Wittson with the responsibility of coordinating psychiatric treatment, training, and research in state operated facilities. In 1951, Douglas County Hospital gave notice that the Nebraska Psychiatric Unit would need to vacate due to space constraints. This propelled Dr. Wittson to fundraise for a new facility on UNMC’s campus. The new $1,500,000 structure, paid for by the State Board of Control and federal funds, expanded the program, which became known as the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute (NPI) in January 1955. The completed building was dedicated on April 30, 1955.

Designed by architect John Latenser, Jr., NPI was the first area on the campus to focus on a pleasant environment, with plenty of light, open spaces, and nice furniture. The new building had facilities for inpatients, outpatients, and day-patients in the treatment areas. The original 96 inpatient beds included 60 for adults, 10 for geriatric research, and 26 for children. The activity areas included an occupational therapy shop, lounge and music room, gymnasium, beauty shop, and outdoor patio. NPI offered training programs for psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric aides, psychiatric social workers, nurses on the graduate level, occupational therapists, group and recreational workers, and EEG technicians. By 1958, NPI received the American Psychiatric Association’s Mental Hospital Service Award, recognizing them as a national leader in mental health care.

A research wing was added to NPI in 1960, and the following year the College of Medicine received the largest single grant ever received to that date by the University of Nebraska. The National Institute of Mental Health awarded the College of Medicine $1,745,000 for NPI to continue expanding "mental retardation" projects underway. Dr. Wittson's success and creativity led the University Board of Regents to appoint him dean of the College of Medicine in 1964. With Dr. Wittson's promotion, LaVern C. Strough, MD, became NPI's acting director, succeeded in 1968 by Merrill T. Eaton, MD. Recognizing changes in the delivery of mental health services and the needs of the state, the Nebraska legislature placed NPI entirely under the authority of the Board of Regents of the University in 1975. The end of NPI came on July 1, 1985, when responsibility for the patient care services was taken over by University Hospital.

Reba Benschoter, PhD

Joining UNMC in the early 1960s, Reba Benschoter, PhD, worked with Cecil Wittson, MD, and engineer Van Johnson to develop increased access and improved mental health care for rural Nebraskans using video technology. She served as project director on a National Institute of Mental Health grant, which supported creation and operation of the first U.S. two-way closed-circuit interactive telemedicine system, extending UNMC psychiatric services to Norfolk State Hospital in rural Nebraska. Dr. Benschoter’s groundbreaking work on CCTV is credited as one of the first telehealth education programs in the nation. Based on this success, similar services were established in rural Nebraska Veterans Administration hospitals to improve staff education and patient care. These programs enabled psychiatrists at metropolitan hospitals to provide services to rural programs while UNMC worked to train more students at NPI to fill the gap in rural health access.

Dr. Benschoter received the J.G. Elliott Award in 2001 for her significant contributions to medicine and health programs in Nebraska. The J.G. Elliott Award is the most prestigious award given annually by the UNMC Chancellor, President of the University of Nebraska, and the Board of Regents.

Richard Hart Young, MD

Richard H. Young, MD, joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 1933 as an instructor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry. He led the department as chair from 1948 until his untimely death in 1953. During his tenure, Dr. Young oversaw the foundation of the Nebraska Psychiatric Unit and, with his father, George Young, Sr., MD, managed the foundation of the Psychiatric Department at Lutheran Hospital. Several facilities have been named in honor of Dr. Young and his contributions to mental health care in Nebraska including the Richard Young Center in Omaha and the CHI Health Richard Young Outpatient Clinic in Kearney.

LaVern Craig Strough, MD

LaVern C. Strough, MD, joined the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry as an assistant professor in 1951 and joined the team at the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute (NPI) as director of out-patient services in 1955. During his tenure at NPI he also served as director of education and training. In 1964, he stepped in as acting chair of the department as well as acting director of NPI when Cecil L. Wittson, MD, became dean of the College of Medicine. Dr. Strough stepped down from these positions in 1968 and moved to Worthington, Minnesota, where he joined the Worthington Medical Clinic.

Frank J. Menolascino, MD

Frank J. Menolascino, MD, joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry in 1958. Dr. Menolascino also joined the team at the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute (NPI) as the clinical director and a pediatric psychiatrist. At NPI, Dr. Menolascino worked closely with Wolf Wolfensberger, MD, developing a lifelong friendship. The two men worked together to develop community activism and support for persons with intellectual disabilities as well as championing the deinstitutionalization movement in Nebraska. They also helped create the Eastern Nebraska Community Office of Retardation (ENCOR), the first community-based support program in Nebraska and one of the first in the United States for individuals with intellectual disabilities.