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The Senate passed the amendment as part of the health care bill Thursday evening.

Senate Passes Amendment To Help Volunteer Ambulance Services

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Some relief for struggling volunteer services is making its way through the legislative process.
 
The state Senate passed a health care bill Thursday night which included an amendment from Sen. Adam Hinds that alleviates the staffing requirements of an ambulance in rural towns. Currently, two emergency medical technicians are required to be on every basic life support transport.
 
Hinds amendment will alleviate that requirement in rural towns to allow for a first responder to drive the ambulance instead of an EMT. Now the health care bill moves to the House of Representatives for approval and Hinds is confident that the amendment will pass there too.
 
"Many of the small towns in Western Mass have volunteer ambulance services. As a result, meeting these requirements means waiting longer," Hinds said on Friday. 
 
Lanesborough's ambulance service has been struggling in recent years. Part of the reason is a drop off in answering calls. Most of the volunteers work during the day and when a call comes in, often there aren't two EMTs available.
 
There are only six or seven active EMTs on the volunteer service to answer the call but there are some 30 volunteer firefighters who are trained first responders. There are times when a single EMT is available to work the back of the rig and care for the patient but the law required another EMT to be the driver.
 
Hinds amendment allows for those first responders to drive the rig on those occasions.
 
"This is a great example of how there are a lot of laws in Massachusetts that don't apply to small towns," Hinds said.
 
In a town like Lanesborough, if two EMTs aren't available an out of town ambulance has to respond. That lengthens the wait time for a patient and the local ambulance service loses out on business.
 
Hinds' amendment being passed as part of the health care bill is the first step in what has been a six-year process. Back in 2011, former state Sen. Benjamin Downing filed a bill requesting to alleviate the requirement.
 
The Department of Public Health had concerns with it. State Rep. Paul Mark worked on catering the bill to specifically rural areas, putting in limits on the use of first responders to only towns with a population of 3,000 people or less or with a density of fewer than 500 residents per square mile. Yet, that still didn't pass.
 
Hinds and Mark both re-filed the bill at the state of this legislative session but it hadn't gotten much traction. As the health care bill came up, Hinds used the opportunity to amend that bill to make the change.
 
"Until now the focus has been on bills, trying to get bills through the Senate and the House and it faced difficulties," Hinds said.
 
The senator said he also reached out the Department of Public Health to find a way to alleviate its concerns. Ultimately, the amendment added language that gives the medical director at the local hospital an approval authority of first responders on the ambulance ahead of time. That is already being done with the EMTs and will now extend to the first responders.
 
The amendment does include a restriction to towns with less than 500 residents per square mile.
 
"This is aimed at towns using a volunteer service," Hinds said.
 
Lanesborough fits that density and town officials have been keeping a close eye on the ambulance service's response rate. Last month, the Selectmen said the service was going in the right direction with responses. This bill could be a game changer for keeping that local service alive.
 
And Lanesborough isn't the only town struggling to keep the volunteer ambulance running. Charlemont and Hawley had both been seeking ways to avoid shutting down the services. Village Ambulance in Williamstown was facing a financial burden and is now merging with North Adams Ambulance Service.
 
The health care bill now moves to the House of Representatives. Hinds said he expects the House to take it up in the new year and if the amendment stays all the way through to the passage of the health care bill, the ambulance services could start using first responders by the end of 2018.
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Former Dempsey Pediatrics Joins BHS Umbrella

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) announced that the former Dempsey Pediatrics provider practice has joined BHS, furthering the legacy of care provided by Dr. Brian Dempsey.
 
"We are pleased to continue the dedicated care services that Dempsey Pediatrics has provided for decades through Berkshire Health Pediatrics," said James Lederer, MD, BHS Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer. "The landscape for primary care and pediatrics has changed dramatically over the last decade, making it increasingly harder for offices to continue as stand-alone practices. By joining with Berkshire Health Systems, Dempsey Pediatrics can continue to care for the region's children and families and can expand the practice to meet their needs now and well into the future."
 
Effective Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Dempsey Pediatrics became Berkshire Health Pediatrics, retaining the majority of the office staff and clinical care team and welcoming Dr. Adam Gicewicz to the team of caregivers.
 
"BHS is very pleased to welcome the Dempsey Pediatrics team to our provider practice organization," said Darlene Rodowicz, BHS President and CEO. "The service and support that thousands of families have come to expect from Dempsey Pediatrics will continue through the team at Berkshire Health Pediatrics. "
 
Gicewicz has been serving with MACONY Pediatrics in recent months and is moving to Berkshire Health Pediatrics. Dr. Gicewicz received his medical degree from Tulane University, New Orleans, and completed his residency at Albany Medical Center. Dr. Dempsey will remain at the practice during the transition period.
 
The office remains at 758 East St. in Pittsfield and will have expanded hours, open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 5 pm. After-hours access will be provided through an on-call provider. Berkshire Health Pediatrics will also use the Berkshire Patient Portal, ensuring secure, accurate and integrated patient information with other BHS services, which helps providers to have a comprehensive view of each patient's care.
 
Added care options will include in-office vaccination for patients over the age of 18, community health workers helping connect patients and families to community partners and resources to support overall well-being, and direct access to the expansive BHS network of clinical services.
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