BHS Diabetes Education Program Launches Weight Loss & Lifestyle Change Program

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Health Systems Diabetes Education Program has implemented a Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change Program for those with Medicare, with new classes beginning in November, at multiple locations across the Berkshires.

The program is aimed at adults 18 and older who have a diagnosis of pre-diabetes by a blood test within the past year. To be eligible for this program, participants must have a need to lose weight, with a Body Mass Index of 25 or higher. The program involves 16 weekly classes over the first six-month period, and six monthly sessions over the remaining six months, for a year-long program. Participants must also be willing to log food that they eat and their activity minutes. This program is covered by Medicare.

To apply for the program, call 413-395-7942. A representative from the BHS Diabetes Education Program will take down information and complete the pre-diabetes risk assessment questions. A lifestyle coach will then contact eligible participants to discuss the program and confirm acceptance.

 


Tags: BHS,   diabetes,   

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Dalton Air Quality Report Links Dust to Digsite

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — For more than a year, neighbors of Berkshire Concrete's unauthorized dig site have complained that sand drifting into their neighborhood is affecting their air quality.
 
A five-month study is providing data that may support these claims.
 
Air Partners Collaborative of Needham monitored the air quality over five months — from October to April — using a network of monitoring sensors at strategic locations surrounding the site. 
 
Sensors were positioned west and southeast of the site at four locations: Raymond Drive, Off Prospect Street, Renee Drive, and the shooting range 80 meters northwest of the site to provide background measurements for the northwesterly winds. 
 
During the observation period, it was determined that Dalton is experiencing "extreme events of coarse particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 micrometers (PM10)
 
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 is 150 micrograms per cubic meter within a 24-hour period, the report says. But Dalton is seeing concentrations reaching 1,000 to 10,000 micrograms per cubic meter during individual events. This is seven to 67 times the national standards.
 
The wind direction analysis indicates that 10 of the 12 exceedance events, or 83 percent, suggest the digsite may be contributing to the issue, but this cannot be proved with certainty.
 
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