Northern Berkshire Family Practice Joining NBH

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire Family Practice will become part of the Northern Berkshire Healthcare family of care providers, NBH officials announced Wednesday.

Dr. William Kober will remain at the practice as medical director and is joined by Dr. Linda Hill, who most recently has practiced with Williamstown Medical Associates. Also joining the practice is Elizabeth Toomajian of North Adams, a family nurse practitioner. The medical practice is accepting new patients for primary care. The number is 413-664-4088.

NBH will purchase the building at 820 State Road.

"We're excited to welcome Drs. Kober and Hill, and Liz Toomajian to the NBH family, as we work to maintain and expand primary care services in the community," said Richard Palmisano, president and CEO of Northern Berkshire Healthcare. "It's no secret that there are immense pressures on primary care doctors across the state and especially here in Berkshire County, and it's important to do all we can to strengthen the provision of those services here."

Palmisano added that NBH continues to devote resources to physician recruitment, including recruitment in the areas of primary care, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and other specialties.


Kober, a board-certified family practice physician, has practiced in North Berkshire since 1994, when Northern Berkshire Family Practice was established. He earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and served his internship and residency at University of Connecticut Affiliated Hospitals at St. Francis' Medical Center in Hartford.

Hill earned her medical degree from the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, and served a rotating internship at Brighton Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She also is a board-certified family practice physician. She came to North Berkshire from the Veterans Administration Primary Care Clinic in Glens Falls, N.Y., and has practiced in communities in Maine, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Toomajian completed her family nurse practitioner certificate program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also holds a master of science in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin. Toomajian most recently has worked for the Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield, and for Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's department of employee and occupational health. She has also worked in North Adams Regional Hospital's psychiatric unit and, from 1995 to 1998, for Northern Berkshire Family Medicine.

Northern Berkshire Healthcare's family of care providers includes NARH, the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Northern Berkshire, Reach Community Health Foundation and Sweet Brook Transitional Care and Living Centers and Sweetwood Continuing Care Retirement Community in Williamstown. Information: 413-664-5000 or www.nbhealth.org.
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Pittsfield Council Adds Funding for Council Education in FY27 Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On the third day of budget hearings, the City Council preliminarily passed all but its own budget, requesting that Mayor Peter Marchetti restore some funds to the education and training line. 

The proposed operating budget for Pittsfield in fiscal year 2027 is $232,782,090, a 2.9 percent increase from this year. Marchetti compared that to hikes in fixed costs: a 9 percent increase in health insurance, a 7 percent increase in debt service, and more than a 5 percent increase in retirement contributions. 

See the first two days of budget review here.

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso's motion to reduce the $3,190 training line by $1,500 failed. Councilors instead asked that the $1,430 cut from reimbursements for the Massachusetts Municipal Association conference be restored. 

This would bring the proposed FY27 budget of $107,832 to $109,262, level with FY26. Marchetti has agreed to the addition. 

"I can remember having to basically sleep in a windowsill the first year I was councilor because I didn't have enough money in my campaign account, and the job I had at the time, I could not afford nights in Boston," Councilor at Large Pete White remembered. 

He and other councilors said the knowledge and networking from the annual weekend-long event in turn allows them to serve Pittsfield residents better. 

"I don't think any of us are up here asking for more pay. But I think it's important that we have a council that is educated and has the opportunity to learn more," Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said. 

"And as somebody that has been to the conference multiple times, I've seen myself learn and bring it back to the constituents, and I've also seen colleagues learn new information and bring it back. It's a great resource for veteran councilors. It's a really great resource for new councilors, and I just wouldn't want to take that opportunity away from anybody, and most importantly, from our constituents."

Ward 7 Councilor Katherine Moody said the conference cost her nearly $500, but the knowledge she brought home could be put to immediate use. 

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa and Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said it is important to ensure that city government is accessible to people of all income levels and from all backgrounds. 

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