PITTSFIELD, Mass. — To help advance education in the respiratory therapy (RT) profession and honor the life's work of Dr. Robert Kacmarek, Dräger has donated a Babylog VN500 ventilator to every school in Massachusetts with a respiratory therapy program, including Berkshire Community College.
This marks the seventh year of Dräger's RT school donation program, which began in 2014.
Dräger is an international leader in the fields of medical and safety technology. The Dräger Babylog VN500 is a ventilator for neonatal and pediatric patients ranging from 0.88 pounds to 44 pounds who require temporary or long-term respiratory support.
According to a press release, Dr. Robert Kacmarek was best-known and most respected respiratory therapist in the world. A professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Respiratory Care at Massachusetts General Hospital, he dedicated his career to the growth of the respiratory profession, serving as a member of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) for more than 50 years, writing 19 textbooks, authoring or co-authoring more than 300 articles, and presenting more than 700 lectures at respiratory care and medical conferences nationally and worldwide.
Dr. Kacmarek, who designed ventilators that have been successfully used during the COVID-19 pandemic, died on April 1, 2021.
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Crane Park's Mini-Pitch is Open for Fun
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Town officials celebrated the opening of the new Crane Parks mini-pitch on Tuesday.
Players from several local soccer programs, community leaders, and project partners gathered to kick the ceremonial first pitch into the goal on the new facility.
Back in May, the Parks Commission endorsed a project to place a mini-pitch over the aging, cracked concrete surface of Crane Park's former rink. A mini-pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates.
"The mini-pitch system will create a space that encourages physical activity and welcomes play through teamwork. The space will serve as a location for the community to gather for outdoor fun and recreation for many years ahead. They'll be able to put their cell phones down for a few minutes and actually engage in some great outdoor entertainment," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.
The project was funded entirely by grants. In June, the City Council accepted the gift of the mini-pitch facility, valued at over $100,000, and $10,000 from the Mill Town Foundation to ready the site.
The facility has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together. Cleats are not allowed on the surface, but sneakers and other sports shoes are.
The mini-pitch system came with a light tower and two LED lamps, but Crane Park does not have power, so it won't be illuminated. That could change in the future, officials said.
The pitch is open for the community every day, but Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reminded users to be mindful as they play as well as to respect the pitch and the neighborhood it resides in.
McGrath said the idea grew out of conversations with Andy Wrba, program director for the Mill Town Foundation.
"There's been a deep, deep soccer community in Pittsfield and throughout the Berkshires for a long time. I've seen it as a multi-generational way for communities to connect and pass down lessons and connect families and everyone. And a big part of that has been the West State Soccer League," Wrba said.
He said the goal is to keep the space active and encourage outdoor recreation and youth engagement.
McGrath said that with the partnership from Mill Town and the city's park commission they were able to bring the pitch to the finish line.
"It's a testament to our ability to bring new and unique facilities into our city that accommodate youth sports. And it really, at the end of the day, is about promotion of soccer. And we are just so pleased that our partners all came together and that we were able to get this mini-pitch completed," McGrath said.
Other contributors as well were the U.S. Soccer Foundation, who provided the mini-pitch system, surface materials, and installation assistance at no cost to the city, as well as Massachusetts Youth Soccer who partnered with Pittsfield to bring the system to the city.
"All these contributions made this project possible, and highlights how our community continues through public and private partnerships to provide new facilities and amenities for all to enjoy," Marchetti said.
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