PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been less than a month since Berkshire Medical Center was one of 21 hospitals selected to begin receiving the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 and have since vaccinated all willing staff out of Berkshire Health System's 3,200 employees.
BMC first received the Pfizer vaccine in early December and received a couple of hundred doses of the Moderna vaccine just before Christmas.
Those getting vaccinations receive a vaccination card with the purpose of keeping track of which vaccine they received and the dosage, said Director of Media Relations Michael Leary. These cards can also serve as a reminder on when to get a second dose as both vaccines require two doses within a few weeks of each other for maximum protection.
Some health-care workers were posting their vaccination cards to social media to show their community that they were committed to stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus. Leary said he could not speak to how many employees had been inoculated at this point.
The hospital has 49 patients on COVID-19 precautions and four pending tests and four patients in the swing unit at Fairview Hospital, according to the BMC website updated on Monday. The figures are the same as those posted last Thursday. However, there were seven more deaths in the hospital reported over the holiday weekend.
Thursday, New Year's Eve, the Emergency Department called a "Code Full" at about 3 p.m. because of surge in patient in the early afternoon.
There were reportedly 40 to 50 patients in treatment or waiting to be seen in the ER. Leary said this surge was not specifically related to the pandemic, as only a small percentage of people were seen for COVID-19 symptoms.
A Code Full indicates that a hospital unit is at capacity for the number of staff on duty. Staff is then increased to account for the shortage, which reportedly required some staff to stay and some to be called in.
"This doesn't happen often but it does happen several times a year," Leary said. "It can happen around any holiday time because your doctor's offices are generally not open."
According to Leary, within one to two hours after calling a Code Full, the situation was well under control.
"It really wasn't anything that we have not dealt with in the past," he said.
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Flushing of Pittsfield's Water System to Begin
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield's Department of Public Utilities announces that phase 1 of the flushing of the city's water system will begin Monday, April 22.
Water mains throughout the city will be flushed, through hydrants, over the upcoming weeks to remove accumulations of pipeline corrosion products. Mains will be flushed Monday through Friday each week, except holidays, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The upcoming flushing for April 22 to May 3 is expected to affect the following areas:
Starting at the town line on Dalton Avenue working west through Coltsville including lower Crane Avenue, Meadowview neighborhood, following Cheshire Road north.
Hubbard Avenue and Downing Parkway.
Starting at the town line on East Street working west through the McIntosh and Parkside neighborhoods.
Elm Street neighborhoods west to the intersection of East Street.
Starting at the town line on Williams Street, working west including Mountain Drive,
Ann Drive, East New Lenox Road, and Holmes Road neighborhoods.
Although flushing may cause localized discolored water and reduced service pressure conditions in and around the immediate area of flushing, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that proper levels of treatment and disinfections are maintained in the system at all times. If residents experience discolored water, they should let the water run for a short period to clear it prior to use.
If discolored water or low-pressure conditions persist, please contact the Water Department at (413) 499-9339.
Flushing is an important operating procedure that contributes significantly to the maintenance of the water quality in the water distribution system.
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On Thursday, the panel approved a notice of intent application for the use of EarthTec QZ within a specified treatment area of the lake.
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Residents mapped out a West Side they would like to see during an input session this week, utilizing multi-use properties to create robust density. click for more