Forum, Resource Fair to Focus on Hospital Closure
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Community and service groups will come together on Friday to find ways to help those left jobless and without medical services with the closing of North Adams Regional Hospital.
The Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's monthly meeting in the morning will focus on how local professionals can support the community; in the afternoon, a community resource fair will be sponsored by Northern Berkshire United Way and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
The NBCC forum will discuss the loss of health care services and the supports needed to help the community adapt to the changing environment. The forum begins at 10 a.m. with the usual round of introductions and updates, followed immediately by the discussion.
It will be held in the meeting room at First Baptist Church, although those interested in attending should check NBCC's Facebook page in case the venue has to be changed.
Forum organizers said the talks will include those who can make a difference in how health care is delivered, along with those who are working around the edges to ensure the necessary ancillary services like transportation, financing, mental health and others are in place. Attendees will be encouraged to "envision what a new regional health care network can look like."
The public is encouraged to attend and to bring a non-perishable item for the Friendship Center food pantry. Following the forum, Mass in Motion coordinator Amanda Chilson will lead a community walk.
The resource fair will run from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Church Street Center social hall on the MCLA campus. Community agencies, local businesses and the public sector are welcome to set up information booths to meet with and provide guidance to the members of the NARH community as they identify and work to access the supportive services.
To reserve a table, contact Libby Macksey at MCLA at 413-662-5245 or E.Macksey@mcla.edu.
For information on the forum, contact Al Bashevkin, at 413-663-7588, or abashevkin@nbccoalition.org.
A career fair is also being sponsored by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce at Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield on Thursday, April 10, from 10 to 4.
