Berkshire Health Systems Initiates COVID-19 Antibody Testing

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems has begun providing COVID-19 antibody testing in the community, which will help residents to know if they have had COVID-19 at some point in the past, but officials stress that testing does not ensure immunity from the virus. 

The testing is available through a blood test and only with a physician order. Interested residents can ask their primary care physician to submit an order to the BHS Laboratory for a test to be drawn at a BHS blood draw station. The result will then be provided to the physician, who will relay the result to the patient.

Patients accessing the antibody testing will be responsible for any co-pays, deductibles or self-pay required by their health insurer, and if they have questions regarding whether insurance will pay for the test should contact their insurance provider.

"We believe this will be important in the long-run to help determine what percentage of the Berkshire population may have had COVID-19, with many people likely having contracted the virus but did not develop serious, or in some cases, any symptoms," said Dr. James Lederer, BHS' chief medical officer and chief quality officer. "Unfortunately, at this early stage of antibody testing nationwide, the test will not answer some key questions the public may have, including whether they have any immunity as a result of a positive antibody test. It may be some time before we know if there is immunity, and the longevity of that immunity."

"As we face the possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 in the upcoming fall and winter months, this testing may help us to better understand how widespread the virus was locally in this first phase," said Dr. Jessica Krochmal, BHS chair of Pathology. "The test itself is a simple blood draw with a fairly fast turnaround, so that we can inform the primary care physician who ordered the test in a short timeframe."

In Berkshire County, to date, nearly 8,500 people have been tested for COVID-19 through a nasal swab test that determines if the individual has the virus at that time, and of that number, just over 500 have been positive. The antibody test will tell the individual, who may have had no symptoms or might at some point earlier this year have had respiratory illness whether they had COVID-19 from an historical perspective.

"We would stress that those who test positive for antibodies understand that this does not mean they are immune going forward," Lederer said. "People should continue to follow all of the precautions put in place across Massachusetts and locally to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing and masking where required."


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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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