LINCOLN- State officials have announced plans to free up more beds in hospitals and to provide free, at-home COVID-19 test kits for Nebraska residents.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts mentioned both programs last week in testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Nebraska hospital officials have said that one of the challenges they face is a lack of places where they can send patients who are well enough to be discharged but not well enough to go home.

Under the so-called hospital decompression program, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will open 78 to 98 skilled nursing beds at three locations in Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island.

The first patients will be accepted at the Lincoln facility on Feb. 1. That facility, situated in the Seagren House Building at 3355 Orwell St., will offer 16 to 36 beds and be operated by Mission Health Communities.

Facilities in Omaha and Grand Island, which would offer 32 and 30 beds, respectively, will begin accepting patients 10 to 14 days after contracts are finalized. The locations will be announced after contract finalization.

Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, thanked Ricketts and the state health department for their efforts in helping to free beds in the state’s hospitals.

“We appreciate their partnership and efforts,” he said in a statement. “This is a critical issue for our hospitals and health care heroes as we continue to be challenged by the impacts of COVID-19.”

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