Northern Berkshire Pediatrics to open Williamstown office.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — It is not quite a house call, but it may be a good call for families in Williamstown and Bennington County, Vt., who take their children to Northern Berkshire Pediatrics.

 

The North Adams-based practice on Tuesday will open its second satellite office, this time moving into 181 Main St. (Route 2), across from the Colonial Plaza shopping center.

 

For more than a decade, the practice has seen patients afternoons at 19 Depot St. in Adams. The new office in Williamstown will be open starting Tuesday, Sept. 2, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

"It's been great because in the communities of Adams and Savoy and the surrounding areas, there's a fair amount of patients for whom it's easier," Dr. Jennifer S. DeGrenier said this week.

 

"I have a huge draw of patients from Adams and Windsor when I'm in Adams. It saves those families a lot of time not having to come up to North Adams."

 

The satellite offices are available for regularly scheduled checkups and same-day, "sick day" appointments, DeGrenier said.

 

Williamstown was a natural direction for Northern Berkshire Pediatric's latest expansion. In 2011, the practice welcomed physicians from Williamstown Medical Associates when that practice decided to focus on adult care.

 

The changing of face of health care in the region is another reason why it makes sense to expand, DeGrenier said.

 

"Bennington and Southern Vermont have seen a loss of pediatricians and family doctors," she said. "We had already seen an influx from Bennington and Southern Vermont."

 

To help meet the rising demand for pediatric care, Northern Berkshire Pediatrics recently added its first nurse practitioner, Kris Savitsky, and a new physician, Dr. Marie Madsen.

 

The practice's six physicians will rotate to cover the Williamstown office, similar to the way they rotate through the Adams satellite office.

 

One medical assistant will work in the Williamstown office four days per week with at least one physician and one nurse visiting when the facility is open.

 

Like its counterpart in Adams, the Williamstown office is outfitted with three examination rooms, which DeGrenier explained should allow the staff on duty to maintain patient flow.

 

"If you think about medicine and the way you try to see people — you always have someone you're preparing for an exam, someone you're treating and occasionally someone who needs to stay there a little longer," she said. "In order for one doctor to work very smoothly, three is a nice number. It allows you to maintain people's appointments.

 

"Even in our [main] office with 10 exam rooms, my day goes very smoothly if I have three of them."