The two Nissan Rogues were branded with each Council on Aging logo and Fallon Health's graphic.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Adams and Lee Councils on Aging took possession of two shiny copper-colored Nissan Rogues on Tuesday, courtesy of Fallon Health.
The gifts, along with a number of "big checks," is the health insurance provider's way of supporting the community, said Richard P. Burke, president and CEO.
"We think it's important to support the communities within which we offer our products and services," he said as recipients of this year's Fallon Health grants admired the pair of sport-utility vehicles parked outside the offices of Elder Services of Berkshire County. "It's our way of getting to know the community. It's a way of giving back to the community."
Erica Girgenti, executive director of the Adams Council on Aging, said the generous gift will allow the COA to expand its services.
"[It] is really going to be able to help us hopefully reach out to our neighboring communities of Cheshire and Savoy and expand transportation to them," she said.
The Fallon Health grants were made at a luncheon at Elder Services to recognize that agency, the two Councils on Aging, Berkshire Health Systems and Western Massachusetts Labor Action. Both COAs received $3,000 grants and Berkshire Health Systems, $5,000. BHS had also received $10,000 for Operation Better Start at the Boys & Girls Club of Pittsfield.
The Worcester-based non-profit provider says it's the only health plan that is both an insurer and a provider of care. It offers group and non-group health insurance options as well as a portfolio of services for senior citizens and Medicare programs. It has worked with both Community Health Plans and Berkshire Health Systems.
It donates about a $1 million a year, along with volunteer hours and in-kind services, within its service area.
The company has focused on hunger issues throughout the state, Burke said. "We have found through our own experience that food insecurity is a major issue in our nation and it's a major issue across Massachusetts.
"We are committed to it. We have donated, really, millions of dollars over several years to hunger relief efforts."
Fallon has donated to food causes in the Berkshires but discovered there was another hurdle for some older residents.
"As we began to become more familiar with Berkshire County, we learned that transportation is a very serious challenge, particularly for elders who have medical appointments and who don't have easy access to public transportation," Burke said. "We thought it made a lot of sense to contribute vehicles to a couple of Councils on Aging and they're going to use these very effectively ...
"We're really excited and pleased to do that. "
Girgenti is fully aware of the problems of getting from here to there, having spent some time sitting on a number of local committees addressing transportation.
"There's a huge need in Berkshire County in particular for long-distance medical assistance as well as the other gaps we see in transportation," she said. "We really think this vehicle is going to give us the opportunity to reach some of the more difficult houses in our neighborhoods."
There are dirt roads and driveways where the all-wheel drive Rogue will come in handy — and when an eight-seater van and a lift will not. Plus, the two vans that the Adams COA leases from the Berkshire Regional Transportation Authority can't leave the Berkshires. Yet there may be cases when a senior citizen needs to get to get to a medical appointment in Springfield, or Albany, N.Y., or Bennington, Vt.
"Being in a community bordered by so many different states, this vehicle is really going to give us the opportunity to travel," Girgenti said. "Being able to utilize this vehicle will now allow us to provide that personal touch where our driver can go in with the person, get them to their medical appointment ... Just navigating a parking lot in a major hospital can be overwhelming let alone having to go for an appointment for a heart condition."
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BRPC Committee Mulls Input on State Housing Plan
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.
"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.
"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and members of the Housing Advisory Council will host multiple listening sessions around the Commonwealth to hear input on the Healey-Driscoll administration's five-year strategic statewide housing plan.
One will be held at Berkshire Community College on May 15 at 2 p.m.
One of Matuszko's biggest concerns is the overall age of the housing stock in Berkshire County.
"And that the various rehab programs that are out there are inadequate and they are too cumbersome to manipulate through," he explained.
"And so I think that there needs to be a greater emphasis not on new housing development only but housing retention and how we can do that in a meaningful way. It's going to be pretty important."
Non-commission member Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community developer director, added that the bureaucracies need to coordinate themselves and "stop creating well-intended policies like the new energy code that actually work against all of this other stuff."
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. proposed angled parking on North Street and was pleasantly surprised that the city responded with an in-depth study and new plans — even if they don't include angled parking.
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Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.
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Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.
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