WALTHAM, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems physician Dr. Linda F. Smothers has been honored by her physician peers of the Berkshire District Medical Society as the district’s 2017 Community Clinician of the Year, an award recognizing her professionalism and contributions as a physician. She received the award at the district’s annual meeting last month at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pittsfield.

Board-certified in adult psychiatry, Dr. Smothers is the medical director of Acute Care Services of Berkshire Health Systems and The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, a community-based, non-profit agency providing care for children, adolescents, adults and families who suffer from chronic mental illness, substance use disorder, and behavioral health disorders. She has provided care as a community psychiatrist to patients throughout Berkshire County for more than 20 years in outpatient and hospital settings, emergency departments and nursing homes.

Smothers earned her bachelor’s degree from California State University and her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. She is an annual participant in the Crisis Intervention Training for Law Enforcement sponsored by the Berkshire Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a program that educates law enforcement personnel about behavioral health disorders.

The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community. The Berkshire District Medical Society is comprised of nearly 500 physicians who live and work throughout Berkshire County.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with some 25,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society, under the auspices of NEJM Group, publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education providing accredited and certified activities across the globe for physicians and other health care professionals.