Berkshire Medical Center's Weight Loss Surgery Program Achieves National Accreditation

09:47AM / Wednesday, August 22, 2007Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD - The bariatric surgery program at Berkshire Medical Center has achieved national accreditation by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network of the American College of Surgeons. Established in 2005 by the ACS in an effort to extend established quality improvement practices to all disciplines of surgical care, the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program provides confirmation that a bariatric surgery program like BMC's has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality care for its bariatric surgery patients. Accredited programs provide not only the hospital resources necessary for optimal care of morbidly obese patients, but also the support and resources that are necessary to address the entire spectrum of care and needs of bariatric patients, from the pre-hospital phase through the post operative care and treatment process. "This is a tremendous achievement for the medical center's weight loss surgery program," said Helen Downey, a registered nurse and chief operating officer of BMC. "The physicians, nurses and staff of our bariatric program have worked very hard to provide a program of the highest quality for our patients in the community who require bariatric surgery to greatly improve their health. Many of those who have had this procedure no longer require medications for the control of diabetes and hypertension." Dr. Andrew Lederman is the medical director of bariatric surgery. The program is coordinated by Lederman and Dr. Robert Fanelli of Surgical Specialists of Western New England, and Jodi Szczepaniak, a registered nurse and clinical nurse specialist and coordinator for bariatric surgical services at BMC. The comprehensive bariatric program at BMC provides gastric bypass and lap-band procedures. Each hospital surveyed by the American College of Surgeons undergoes an on-site verification by experienced bariatric surgeons, who review the hospital's structure, process and quality of data. Because high-quality surgical care requires documentation using reliable measurements of outcomes, accredited bariatric surgery programs are required to report their outcomes data either to the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program or the college's BSCN database. In the United States, more than 11 million people suffer from severe obesity, and the numbers continue to increase. Obesity increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, among other health risks. Currently, weight loss surgery provides the only effective, lasting relief from severe obesity. According to the ACS, it is "of utmost importance to extend our quality initiatives to accrediting bariatric surgery programs so that we can assist the public in identifying those facilities that provide optimal surgical care for patients who undergo this surgical procedure."

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Pittsfield E-Bike Rider Injured in Collision

Staff reportsiBerkshires
10:00AM / Wednesday, August 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A man on a motorbike was injured after being struck by a vehicle on Wahconah Street on Tuesday.

Just before 3 p.m., police, firefighters and Action Ambulance were called to the 400 block of Wahconah Street, near the former Bel Air Dam, for a report that a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle.

Upon arrival, first responders found a 22-year-old man, later identified as Girey Rivera of Memorial Drive, lying in the northbound lane with "obvious injuries." Police say he was struck by a vehicle operated by a Lanesborough resident.

"Initial investigation showed that Rivera was actually riding an e-motorcycle southbound on Wahconah Street and attempted to move between stopped traffic to cross the northbound lane when he was struck by a 2014 Honda CRV being operated by Louis Baker of Lanesborough, traveling north," police wrote on Tuesday.

"Baker was uninjured in the collision and Rivera was transported to Berkshire Medical Center with potentially life-threatening injuries."

Wahconah Street was closed for about four hours between Wilson Street and Bel Air Avenue while the accident was investigated and cleared up. The roadway was opened at around 7 p.m.

Next to the roadway in this area is the site of the former abandoned Bel Air Dam, which contractors have been in the process of removing.

The accident remains under investigation by the Pittsfield Police Traffic Unit. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident or may have witnessed this vehicle traveling on Wahconah Street shortly before the accident is asked to contact Sergeant David Hallas at 448-9700 Ext. 560.

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