photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

The Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County, 1000 W. Second St., is pictured Thursday, May 25, 2023.

Applications are now being accepted for membership in an advisory group for the Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County.

The TRC, which opened in April, is operated by Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and is designed to assist community members with behavioral health and/or substance use crises, including inpatient stays of up to 72 hours.

The advisory group, according to a news release Friday from the county, will meet on a quarterly basis and “provide consensus-based recommendations, guide quality improvement, work collaboratively to promote integration of care among providers, and provide a forum for elevating challenges and implementing solutions.”

Bob Tryanski, the county’s director of behavioral health projects, said in the release that leaders were looking forward to working with advisory members who will bring “new viewpoints and expertise to the table to help us better serve Douglas County residents.”

As the Journal-World reported, the group would ideally be composed of 10 to 15 members, representing physician/clinical expertise, community advocates, lived-experience or expertise, first responders or justice system representatives, and organizational management, human services or legal representatives. Lived experience “reflects the diversity of our community and scope and breadth of behavioral challenges presented by TRC patients,” Tryanski said at the Dec. 5 Douglas County Commission meeting. Areas of lived-experience include mental illness, substance-use disorders and housing insecurity/homelessness.

Those interested in serving on the advisory group have until Jan. 15 to apply. The application form can be found on the Douglas County website. As part of the application review process, Douglas County and Bert Nash will reach out to applicants, then give recommendations for appointment to the Douglas County Commission.

“The hope would be that we could be in position to have the first advisory group meeting in February,” Tryanski said on Dec. 5. For additional questions, Tryanski can be contacted at btryanski@douglascountyks.org or by phone at 785-551-8747.