Berkshire Health Systems Further Reduces Call Line Hours as Usage Falls

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Citing the continuing drop in the number of calls received on a daily basis, Berkshire Health Systems is further reducing the hours for its COVID-19 Nurse Triage Line. For the past month, the hours have been 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Effective Sunday, May 17, the hours will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week.

During the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Berkshires, the toll-free call line recorded, on average, between 200 and 300 calls per day. That number has dropped to an average of 100 calls per day, with very few calls after 4:30 p.m. 

The call line was developed during the very first days of the pandemic in the Berkshires as a way to provide immediate access to nurses who could field and answer questions or concerns regarding COVID-19, from symptoms to whether an individual should be tested, speak with their physician, or be transported to the Emergency Department. A physician staffs the telehealth component in the event that the caller's questions require a higher level of diagnostic discussion and recommendations.

"We are committed to staffing this important community resource throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to review the utilization to determine whether additional adjustments, whether to further reduce the hours or to revert to expanded hours is necessary, based on need," said Darlene Rodowicz, BHS executive vice president. "We also want to stress to the community that if they need care, our providers, from the Emergency Department to our physician practices, are open and ready to see anyone in need of care, whether in-person or by telehealth. While we battle COVID-19, we want to stress that those who need care for chronic or other conditions should continue to see or speak with their providers and we have taken extra precautions to ensure that all of our facilities are clean and safe."


Tags: BHS,   COVID-19,   


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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