BCArc Hires Director of Nursing, Supervisor of Behavioral Services

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Arc has named two new members to its staff, naming Caroline Eldred to director of nursing and Kristen Myers to supervisor of behavioral services.

With six years at BCArc, Eldred started as a Residential RN, then Nursing Supervisor before being named Director. Before BCArc she worked at the Brien Center and Spectrum Health Systems.

In her new position, she will oversee the nursing staff for all residential programs. She came to BCArc after experiencing several other nursing environments

"Unlike at hospitals, at BCArc you get to know your patients as people, as individuals. I get to manage their care for years, understand their needs and behaviors," she said. A graduate of Berkshire Community College, she was born in Atlanta before moving to Pittsfield.

In her new position, Myers will assess, implement and monitor the individual behavioral supports needed across Developmental/Intellectual Disability, Autism, and brain-injured adults. Kristen has been with BCArc for 12 years, and has experience in both Day Programs and Residential Services.

Before joining the Clinical Department full-time in 2018, she was an Education Supervisor at Berkshire County Head Start.  She also serves as a clinical liaison for BCArc’s Human Rights Committee.

Myers is a certified Grief Counselor, and has certificates in Autism Services and Trauma-informed Care. She is a Berkshire native who graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with an interdisciplinary degree in Education and Psychology. 

Myers is currently working on completing her Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis at Bay Path University in October.


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Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at The Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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