Fallon Health Names Medical Director of Medicaid Programs, ACOs

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WORCESTER, Mass. — Fallon Health, a mission-focused, community-based not-for-profit health care services organization, has appointed Dr. Linda Weinreb as medical director of its Medicaid programs and Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.

A family physician with more than 25 years of experience directing clinical programs for, and conducting research with, vulnerable populations, Dr. Weinreb is a nationally recognized expert on the health and support needs of homeless families and the integration of behavioral health and primary care services for vulnerable populations. Dr. Weinreb has extensive expertise on the impact of social determinants on health and ways to address these issues in the context of health care and in collaboration with community partners. Recently, she became a member of a newly established task force by Worcester’s City Manager for sustaining housing first solutions.

At Fallon, Weinreb will oversee clinical operations for the organization’s three ACOs, which launched March 1. ACOs are partnership plans with MassHealth designed to improve health outcomes by providing coordinated and patient-centered care in partnership with community providers. Fallon’s ACO Partnership Plans are Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative (with provider partners Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs and several Berkshire County community physician groups); Fallon 365 Care (with provider partners Reliant Medical Group and Southboro Medical Group); and Wellforce Care Plan (with provider partners from the Wellforce health system, including Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization, Lowell Community Health Center, New England Quality Care Alliance [NEQCA], Hallmark Health, Circle Health and Tufts Medical Center).

Previously, Weinreb served as vice chair and professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at University of Massachusetts Medical School and medical director of the Family Health Center of Worcester's Homeless Families Program, which provides trauma-informed, integrated health, mental health and support services to homeless and at-risk families. Under her leadership, the health center’s program developed into a nationally recognized model for addressing the comprehensive needs of homeless families and has been recognized by the Surgeon General and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

Weinreb earned a medical degree from Pennsylvania State Medical School and a bachelor of arts in biology at Washington University.

 

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Flooding Leads Pittsfield ConCom to Bel Air Dam Deconstruction Site

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Bel Air Dam project team toured the site on Monday with the Conservation Commission to review conditions following a flooding incident

Work has been on hold for two weeks after melting snow and a release of water from Pontoosuc Lake led to water overtopping of the almost 200-year-old, abandoned dam. The project team says deconstruction is still on track to end in December. 

"They have plenty of time to finish the work, so they don't expect that they're going to need extra time, but we're all waiting," reported Robert Lowell, the Department of Conservation and Recreation's deputy chief engineer. 

"… it's unfortunate, but the high-water conditions in the spring, we did have in the contract that the site might flood, so there was supposed to be a contingency for it, and we're now dealing with the complications of that." 

DCR's Office of Dam Safety is leading the $20 million removal of the classified "high hazard" dam, funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars. It has been an area of concern for more than a decade. 

The dam on Pontoosuc Brook dates to 1832 and was used for nearly a hundred years to power a long-gone woolen mill. It's being targeted for removal, using American Rescue Plan Act funds, because the stacked stone structure poses a significant danger to homes and businesses downstream. Excavation of sediment began last fall by contractor SumCo Eco-Contracting of Wakefield. 

Earlier this month, community members noticed flooding at the site bordering Wahconah Street; water levels were down by the next week. Conservation commissioners called for the site visit with concerns about the effects of the water release and how it is being remedied.  

The group got a look at the large project area near the dam and asked questions. Chair James Conant explained that community members wanted to know the cause of the flooding. 

Jane Winn, former executive director of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, said this was specifically brought up at the Conservation Commission hearing to ensure this sort of thing didn't happen. 

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