Provider Profile – Suzanne Childs, BHS Occupational Therapist

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Across the country, there are nearly 135,000 Occupational Therapists, and Suzanne Childs, who provides this specialized care at the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC, says OT goes beyond helping someone regain their functions for work.
 
"We promote functional independence for people and help restore not only vocational skills, but also homemaking and daily living skills," said Childs. "Occupational Therapy covers the full range of activities people of all ages do to live functional, meaningful lives."
 
Suzanne has been with BMC since 1994 and has served as an Occupational Therapist in the Berkshires for nearly 30 years, most of that time in the outpatient setting. She came to the Berkshires after providing OT services in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and later New York state.
 
"Occupational Therapists often work together with Physical Therapists, but our roles are quite unique. PT focuses on improving the patient's ability to move their body, whereas I concentrate on improving my patient's ability to perform activities of daily living. We help our patients to do things beyond their PT care, such as brushing their teeth, getting dressed, making meals and all of their other everyday tasks that may have been impeded by an illness or injury."
 
Suzanne is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and completed her clinical education at Toledo Mental Health in Ohio and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. Over the years, she has provided care for spinal cord injury, stroke, post-acute rehabilitation for children and young adults and general rehabilitation.
 
If you need Occupational Therapy or any kind of rehabilitative care, ask your primary care provider for a referral or call the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC at 413-447-2234.




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Pittsfield Considers Changes to Committee Clerks, Including Pay

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires.com

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Do you have the experience and will to clerk city meetings? 

The Ordinances and Rules subcommittee last M supported code changes that reduce the number of meeting clerks by one and increase pay. Two clerks of committees would be paid $5,000 per year for multiple monthly meetings. 

"I think reorganization of this is good. I do worry a little bit that sometimes five committees is a lot, but I think I’m going to vote for this," member Kathy Amuso said.

"I think we kind of left out some of our clerks with the pay raises, and so this was on my radar for next budget season, so I think doing something earlier is better." 

The subcommittee unanimously supported Council President Earl Persip III's petition to amend Chapter 16, Human Resources, and Article 6, Clerk of Committees. The aim is to have more consistency.

Clerks are currently paid around $2,800 annually for administrative and organizational support to City Council committees. This includes preparing the meeting agendas, handling documents, ensuring they are posted properly to meet Open Meeting Law, mailing hearing notifications, and taking minutes. 

With these changes: 

  • Clerks would be appointed by the City Council biannually, rather than annually. 
     
  • One clerk is responsible for committees on ordinances and rules, public services and utilities, public buildings and maintenance, and community and economic development. 
     
  • The second clerk is responsible for committees on public health and safety, the audit, Committee of the Whole (including budget hearings), traffic, finance, and ad hoc committees. 

The current code, Section 2-26, has three clerks splitting the committees, appointed yearly in January. 

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