Berkshire Health Systems Investing $6M in North County
 BHS is investing $6 million to expand services at BMC North. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems will invest $6 million in Northern Berkshire in the coming months.
The significant investment will mean the expansion of outpatient and imaging services, as well as upgrades to the technology at the BMC North campus.
The funds were approved in the capital budget by the Berkshire Health Systems Board of Trustees in October and includes infrastructure improvements, building renovations, expanded services and equipment purchases.
"This is the next phase in Berkshire Health Systems' ongoing commitment to provide enhanced health-care services to the Northern Berkshire community," said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems, in a statement. "This represents a major commitment in providing expanded and sustainable care, close to home for Northern Berkshire residents."
Residents in North County have been closely watching for BHS' plans for the former North Adams Regional Hospital campus. The former Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy in March and abruptly closed the hospital, leaving a health-care vacuum in the region.
Berkshire Medical Center, part of BHS, purchased the campus and the Northern Berkshire Family Practice building for $4 million in August. It had already reopened the emergency room and some imaging services in cooperation with the state and U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and took over operations of the visiting nurse association and the family practice.
The expanded services will include mammography, for which BMC had been awaiting federal approval to resume.
Also to be offered are outpatient endoscopy and outpatient orthopedic surgery, and expansion of outpatient imaging.
Berkshire Health Systems will also be upgrading the electronic health record system to match the system used by BMC, while continuing the archiving of patient medical records from the former NARH, which will allow permanent access to records for Northern Berkshire patients and their providers. State officials had requested that BHS retain and maintain those archived patient records.
Berkshire Health Systems is in the process of purchasing new technology for endoscopy and mammography services. In addition, technology that had been under lease by NARH, including a large-bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-speed computed tomography (CT) scanner, will be purchased by BHS in a buy-out of the leases.
Infrastructure improvements will include renovations to the cardiology, urology and oncology physician offices and other clinical spaces, and general building repairs and enhancements.
The total investment is $6 million, with the service expansions to take place over the next several weeks, while renovations and other improvements will take place over several months.
NBH's closure directly affected 500 jobs in the area. Since then, BHS said it has hired 214 former NARH employees in Northern Berkshire and at the main campus of BMC in Pittsfield.
Tags: BMC, bmc north, hospital campus, NARH,
