Board Certified Cardiologist Joins BMC

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Thea N. Calkins

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Thea N. Calkins, a board certified and fellowship trained cardiologist and specialist in echocardiography, joined the Berkshire Medical Center medical staff and the physician staff of Cardiology Professional Services.

Dr. Calkins is accepting new patients in need of cardiology care and echocardiography testing and provides comprehensive cardiology services, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, stress testing, holter and EKG interpretation.

She is partnered with Jeffrey Leppo, Kyle Cooper, Kristen Currie, David Finck, Douglas Herr, William Levy, Henry Lyle, Lisa Massie, Teresa Menendez, Andrew Potash, Mara Slawsky and Georgianne Valli-Harwood at Cardiology Professional Services.


Dr. Calkins comes to the Berkshires from Maryland, where for many years she had served as director of the Echocardiography Lab at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. She also previously served with Chesapeake and Washington Heart Care in Waldorf and Leonardtown, Md., the Veterans Administration Hospital in Manchester, N.H., Baltimore and Perry Point VA Hospitals, the University of Maryland Medical Center and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

She is board certified in cardiovascular disease and was fellowship trained in cardiology at the University of Michigan Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Calkins received her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed her residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Michigan Hospital.

For an appointment with Dr. Calkins or one of her colleagues at Cardiology Professional Services at BMC, call 413-395-7580.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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