PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College is suspending its nursing program for a year.
The decision is another blow — hopefully a short-term one — to nursing education in the region following the impending closure of Southern Vermont College. The associate's degree program will go on hiatus for first-year students in 2019 to address lingering issues and begin re-enrollment of new students in fall 2020.
"We have a 50-year history of graduating excellent practitioners and this brief pause allows us to address specific areas of focus that have been highlighted by our accrediting and licensing bodies," said college President Ellen Kennedy in a statement announcing the hiatus on Wednesday morning.
The change won't impact currently enrolled students, who will continue their education. And the college will accept bridge students or re-admission into the program. The hiatus focuses solely on first-year students entering the program.
The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing last July cited the college on a number of issues, which college officials have characterized as "housekeeping," and dropped the state accreditation to "approval with warning."
College officials met with the boards and Dean of Enrollment Management Christina Wynn said they had been told that the program will be restored to full accreditation. BCC is still awaiting the "official word," she said.
ACEN had reviewed the program during its March board meeting, Wynn said. The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing also did a site visit last fall.
"We have unofficial news that they are going to restore us to full status. We're waiting on the official from them," Wynn said.
However, ACEN and MassBORN had both filed a number of recommendations regarding curriculum and outcomes. Wynn said the decision to temporarily suspend the program is eyed to fully implement those changes.
"A strength of our program has been our faculty," Vice President for Academic Affairs Jennifer Berne said in the statement. "BCC's nursing faculty are committed to providing excellent nurses for our community. It is out of respect for this tradition that the faculty agreed that taking a year to respond to the increasingly evidenced-based and scientifically rigorous standards from our regulators was the wisest approach to ensure the quality of our future nursing graduates."
The change in status last year was triggered by a low percentage of graduates passing the National Council Licensure Examination exam for nurses to become certified. In 2017, just 74 percent of the program's graduates passed the exam on their first try. The college reported that number had been bolstered to 84 percent in 2018.
College officials say changes to the means testing from a rolling average to a single year affected how its graduates were portrayed. Since its classes are smaller, only one or two test failures can impact its passing rate.
Plans were made to address those issues and a number of others cited by the board. In the midst of the drop in accreditation and efforts to restore it, Director of Nursing Tochi Urbani resigned and an interim director, Christine Martin, was named. The college is still looking for a dean of nursing to head the program.
The program has been considered one of the college's gems for a long time prior to the recent trouble. The nursing program has consistently provided a pipeline for nurses for local health care providers.
"The college has been a critical partner with us in addressing the pipeline for the health-care profession in our region," said President and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems David Phelps in a prepared statement. "BCC has kept us involved during this process and we understand the reason for and support this decision."
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It is sad to see a, once successful, nursing program be abolished. We desperately need more clinical nurses and had BCC hired more full-time professors, at the MSN and Ph.D. level instead of hiring more administrators BCC would have been a stellar Community College.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.
Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.
The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.
It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.
Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.
Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street.
The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more