Berkshire Medical Group Joins Berkshire Health Systems

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In a move that will help to ensure continued and expanded access to primary care and infectious disease services in the Berkshires, the Berkshire Medical Group has joined the Berkshire Health Systems Physician Practice organization.

Berkshire Medical Group, an internal medicine and infectious disease practice, includes doctors Paula Aucoin, Rebecca Caine, Prakash Darji, Jason Kittler, Michael McInerney and Sharon Rawlings and Amy Cassotta, ANP-BC, Helen Majchrowski, FNP/C, and Wanda Torres, ANP-BC.

Effective Nov. 1, the practice will be renamed Berkshire Internists of BMC, and will remain at its existing location in the BMC Medical Arts Complex in Pittsfield, with few if any noticeable changes for patients.

This partnership helps to stabilize the physician practice and ensure continued and expanded access to critical primary care and infectious disease services. Growing changes in healthcare policy and in the health insurance reimbursement system have challenged the viability of private physician practices. Healthcare systems like BHS are increasingly relied upon to ensure current and future access to critical services for the community by investing in physician practices and ensuring they have the necessary support systems and financial stability and investment to succeed in the long-term.


By becoming part of the BHS physician practice group, Berkshire Medical Group can not only continue to serve its patients, but has the enhanced ability to expand through the support of Berkshire Health Systems' comprehensive physician recruitment program, which has successfully expanded critical patient access to primary care and specialties across the Berkshires.

"The strength of our partnership with Berkshire Health Systems will allow us to continue to provide the highest quality care for our community and gives us the support we need to maintain and expand our services over the long-term," McInerney said. "Healthcare has become increasingly complex and private physician practices are faced with significant challenges that threaten their long-term viability. Becoming part of Berkshire Health Systems is good for our practice, our patients and our community."

Berkshire Internists of BMC will continue to be located on the second floor of the BMC Medical Arts Complex, 777 North St., Pittsfield, and its phone number will remain 413-499-8510.

 

 


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State Housing Secretary Tours Downtown Pittsfield Developments

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state's new secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities on Monday saw how local developers are transforming historic buildings into downtown housing units. 

Secretary Juana Matias, appointed to the role in February, toured the former St. Joseph's High School on Maplewood Avenue and the near-complete Wright Building Block on North Street.   

Matias observed local leaders working collaboratively to dismantle bottlenecks in housing production, something she said the administration wants to see across all 351 municipalities.  

"This is a perfect model of the partnerships we want to see, and we love coming to the ground and seeing how people are leveraging public taxpayer dollars to help address the issue of our time, which is housing production," she said after the tours. 

Developer David Carver, of Scarafoni Associates & CT Management Group, is seeking support from the state Housing Development Incentive Program to transform St. Joe's into apartments, and Allegrone Companies has secured millions from the program towards the Wright Building renovation

They first visited the shuttered school that functioned as a shelter during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, greeted by broken windows and leaving with Carver's vision. 

The plan is to transform the school with good bones into 19 apartments, 20 percent designated affordable, and 30 percent of the building for commercial use.  Units are expected to cost between $1,700 and $1,900 per month; 14 one-bedroom units and five two-bedroom units are planned. 

The project team is in talks with the nearby Berkshire Family YMCA to expand their childcare activities to the building's lower level.  Residents and the daycare would use different entrances. 

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