Hinds Sets Community Outreach Events for March

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The staff of state Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, will host two community outreach events during March.
 
The senator's staff will be available to meet with constituents in the communities of Huntington and North Adams on Wednesday, March 18, for this month's staff office hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
  • North Adams City Hall, 10 Main St.
  • Stanton Hall, 24 Russell Road, Huntington

Appointments are not necessary but can be booked in advance by calling the Pittsfield office at 413-344-4561 or the Williamsburg office at 413-768-2373. These office hours provide an opportunity for those seeking assistance with state agencies or programs to speak with Hinds' constituency services staff in person. 

All residents of the senator's Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Senate District are invited to participate in these sessions if they have an idea, question or comment about state government they wish to share, or if they require assistance from the senator's constituent services team. Everyone is welcome.
 
Appointments are not necessary but can be booked in advance by calling the Pittsfield office at (413) 344-4561 or the Williamsburg office at (413) 768-2373. These office hours provide an opportunity for constituents seeking assistance with state agencies or programs to speak with the senator's staff in person.   
 
Since early 2017, Hinds' district team, A.J. Enchill and Jon Gould, have held monthly roving office hours outside of their primary work locations in an effort to increase office accessibility for every constituent no matter where they reside. Enchill is based in the senator's Pittsfield office and Gould splits his time between Pittsfield and Williamsburg.  
 
Last year, the senator's district staff traveled to 19 towns and met with hundreds of local officials and residents in Adams, Alford, Blandford, Charlemont, Chester, Cummington, Heath, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Middlefield, Monroe, New Marlborough, Peru, Plainfield, Rowe, Washington and Windsor, Westhampton, West Stockbridge while Senator Hinds participated in public forums throughout the Senate District.
 
Those unable to attend these events who are seeking to interact with the senator and his staff may email him at Adam.Hinds@masenate.gov or call the offices during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. The State House office, where the budget and policy, media relations, and scheduling functions are handled, can be reached at 617-722-1625.

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North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
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