BMC Awarded Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification

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PITTSFIELD, Mass — Berkshire Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. 
 
The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization's commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
 
The certification, in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, focuses on the pre-surgical orthopedic consultation to the intraoperative, hospitalization or ambulatory surgical center admission, rehabilitation activities, and follow-up visit with the orthopedic surgeon.
 
Berkshire Medical Center underwent a rigorous, unannounced virtual review and during the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards.
 
"Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care," said Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. "We commend Berkshire Medical Center for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for orthopedic patients."
 
Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
 
"Our Orthopaedic team at Berkshire Medical Center and Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates provides the highest level of care for our hip and knee replacement patients," said James Lederer, MD, Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer for Berkshire Health Systems. "This continued Gold Seal Certification validates their commitment to their patients and to our Berkshire community."
 
For more information, visit The Joint Commission website.

Tags: BHS,   BMC,   

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PHS Air and Water Quality Within Accepted Levels

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Air and water quality testing at Pittsfield High School came back within acceptable levels, and the administration is open to additional testing. 

Last week, the School Committee accepted test results on the facility that has sat on East Street for nearly 100 years.  The report was done in collaboration with Atlas Technical Consultants and the Pittsfield Water Department. 

Readings were "acceptable" in all tested locations, and there are recommendations for monitoring humidity, replacing equipment, and additional air monitoring when needed.  Some retesting needed to be done, and a couple of sink faucets were removed in the process. 

"If you want every room sampled, we can do it," Mayor Peter Marchetti said in response to Ciara Batory's concerns about air sampling in only a handful of rooms. 

"This is the report that came back, and this report does not show that children are in danger."

Limited indoor air quality readings were done in rooms 102, 103, 104, and 116 on June 31.  Air quality testing was also done two years ago. 

Humidity levels were slightly above American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers guidelines in rooms 103 and 104; monitoring and dehumidification are recommended. 

The report says that mold spores captured in rooms 103 and 104 likely originated from an indoor source.  Custodial deep cleaning was done right before samples were taken, and a retest showed levels within an acceptable range. 

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