BHS COVID-19 Testing Centers Holiday Hours

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The testing centers in Pittsfield, North Adams and Great Barrington will be open for regular hours most of the holiday season. 
 
Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) has been testing over 600 people each day at its three COVID-19 testing centers in Pittsfield, North Adams, and Great Barrington, and the need for testing is expected to continue to be strong throughout and just after the holidays. 
 
The Pittsfield and North Adams testing centers will be open daily during the holidays, including Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed on Christmas Day. Great Barrington will be open for its regular hours, 7:30 am to 12 noon, on Dec. 24 and 31 but closed on Christmas and New Year's Days.
 
The Pittsfield testing center is located at 505 East St., St. Luke's Square; North Adams testing center is located at 98 Church St., next to the city library; and the Great Barrington testing center is at 475 Main St., next to the town Police Department.
 
"As members of our community gather for the holidays, we expect that due to the current COVID-19 surge and the new Omicron variant that there will be a great demand for testing," said Dr. James Lederer, BHS Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer. "We want to remind people that if you are asymptomatic and feel you may have been exposed to the virus, to wait 5 to 7 days after the potential exposure to be tested, in accordance with the most recent guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health."
 
Vaccination Clinics and Appointments
 
Berkshire Health Systems continues to provide COVID-19 vaccination, including first and second doses and boosters for all who are eligible through its testing centers in Pittsfield and North Adams, and at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington. A community clinic being held at Berkshire Community College on Saturday, Dec. 18 will provide vaccination to nearly 1,000 people and is at capacity – and the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is planning a second community clinic on Saturday, Jan. 8, with more details to be provided early next week.
 
Appointments are required for testing and vaccination and can be made by using the Berkshire Patient Portal or calling 855-BMC-LINK (855-262-5465).

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Companion Corner: Fox at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and energetic dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for his new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Fox is a 3-year-old Pomeranian who has been at the shelter for about a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Fox. 

"He's a bundle of joy. He would love a family who's home with him a lot, because he's just, he's very social and wants to be with his people a lot. And he would be fun to bring out and about, bring a lot of places, because he's very happy to go anywhere," she said.

When Fox enters the room he is immediately a puffball of energy that goes around and around the room.

He came to the shelter after his former owner could not take care of him anymore. 

"The owner was just not able to care for him anymore. Had he came in with another dog, Wolf, and she already did find her forever home just last week," said Olivieri. "The two of them were left with a friend of the original owner, and the owner did not come back to pick them up, and the friend had too many animals in the house, and too much going on, and she just couldn't continue to look after them, so they did end up coming to us."

Fox can go home with cats and children but is not recommended to go home with other dogs as he gets too excited.

"He would love a home where people are home quite a bit to give him all the attention that he so desires. He loves kids. He absolutely adores children. So he would like a home with kids to play with. He could live with cats. We are saying that he should not live with other dogs. The only reason is that he gets very humpy, and he does not leave the other dogs alone," she said.

With his energy it is recommended he goes to a home that can keep him active whether walks or hikes and even fetch in the yard.

Fox does need to learn more about walking on a leash and has a tendency to mark in the house but he was recently neutered. Olivieri said belly bands will be sent home with whoever adopts him to help prevent marking and managing it.

"He would like an active home. He really does like to go for walks daily. He likes to run around in the yard. He does need a little work on leash walking. He sometimes gets a little tangled still under your feet, and he's learning how to walk on a leash," she said. "So, someone who's got some patience and some time to work on some training with him."

"He also is not fully potty trained, so he does know to go potty outside. However, he will still mark, urinate in the house sometimes, and he might poop here and there in the house."

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