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 Cleans Downtown Litter, Works on Outreach Program

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As the city develops a peer support outreach program, workers are clearing the downtown of potentially hazardous litter from the wintertime. 

Over the past three weeks, the Health Department has sent out inspectors to assess sanitary conditions in the downtown, beginning on North Street, moving to First Street, and to the McKay Street parking garage. 

"We've identified a lot of needles, and mostly needle caps and then small drug paraphernalia, and while we're identifying them, we're noting where we're finding them, and we're also picking them up and disposing of them properly," Director of Public Health Andy Cambi said. 

"… We have not found any human waste sanitation issues currently, again, not to say that there isn't any, but I think it also speaks to the fact that we do have a new facility that's open, that's being run, The First, which does offer bathroom facilities, laundry facilities." 

On Monday, he updated the Public Health and Safety subcommittee on the progress of the upcoming peer support outreach program and cleanup efforts in the area it will serve. 

The First housing resource center opened in February in the basement of the Zion Lutheran Church with bathrooms, lounge spaces, lockers, and more. In its early days, it averaged about 50 visitors daily; on Sundays, an average of 70 visitors. 

Cambi said he is in constant communication with ServiceNet, which is operating The First. 

"It has been used heavily, so I think that speaks to the relief of issues that we're seeing in the downtown area in regards to those sanitation issues," he added.

"It's a great resource that's available that is being constantly used, so again, what it was intended for."

When the department comes across human waste, they will connect with Department of Public Works staff to have it cleaned and sanitized.  Workers can make a clear distinction between pet and human waste, Cambi reported. 

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