BCC Now Admitting Students into Respiratory Care Program

08:05AM / Friday, March 10, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) is now accepting applications for the fall semester for its Respiratory Care program.

The program is part of a workforce development pipeline at Berkshire Health Systems (BHS), otherwise known as the "talent pipeline," which is designed to create a direct career path from education and training to full-time employment at BHS.

The largest employer in the Berkshires, BHS covers the cost of all training in its pipeline programs and also offers trainees full-time pay with benefits while they are completing their training.

"In as little as two years, students can earn an associate degree in respiratory therapy at BCC, then complete their training at BHS, where respiratory therapists are in demand," said Lori Moon, BCC Dean of Nursing. "It's a fantastic partnership that benefits both BCC students and the growing healthcare workforce in the Berkshires."

Respiratory care practitioners help treat patients with a wide range of cardiopulmonary illnesses, including asthma or heart failure. Respiratory care includes diagnostic testing and administering oxygen, various other gases and aerosol drugs.

BCC's two-year Respiratory Care program, a sequence of lecture, laboratory and clinical courses, prepares students to become Certified Respiratory Therapists (CRTs) and Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRTs). The program combines coursework and hands-on training, emphasizing the rigorous technical and academic competencies required of a respiratory therapist. Students who complete the program are eligible to take the National Board for Respiratory Care examination.

Graduates of the program are employed in diverse areas of healthcare, holding positions such as neonatal/pediatric specialists, adult critical care specialists, pulmonary rehabilitation specialists, critical care transport therapists, home-care therapists, clinical educators and many more. The projected average salary of respiratory therapists working in the United States is more than $73,000 per year. In Massachusetts, respiratory therapists earn a median wage of $73,000 to $87,000.

The Respiratory Care program at BCC is accredited by The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).? For more information, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/respiratory-care.

Tags: BCC, BHS, BMC,

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Gov. Maura Healey's State of the Commonwealth 2026

04:10PM / Friday, January 23, 2026

Gov. Maura Healey's State of the Commonwealth address as prepared for delivery on Jan. 22, 2026, at the State House.

Good evening, Massachusetts! Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, who I know is watching from home, Leader Tarr, Leader Jones, and everyone in the Legislature: Thank you for our work together.

We also have empty seats in the Chamber tonight, members of this body who we lost this year. Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante: Great public servants who served with passion and dedication and will be deeply missed.

Thank you to our Constitutional officers, members of the judiciary, and Governor's Councilors. Thank you to the former governors joining us tonight, Governor Bill Weld and Governor Mike Dukakis. Mayor Wu, and all our mayors and local officials: You'll always have a partner in the Healey-Driscoll administration.

And speaking of Driscoll, let's hear it for our lieutenant governor. Kim, you're the best teammate in government and on the pickleball court, too.

Let's hear it for our friends from labor and all the workers who keep Massachusetts running every single day. Let's hear it for members of the business community, the innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs who are creating those jobs. Thank you to our faith community who offer support and guidance in a time when people are feeling a lot of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Joanna, and our families, thank you for your love and support. Members of our military, veterans and Gold Star Families: everything we have, we owe to you. Thank you.

This year, America celebrates a milestone: 250 years since our founding. Massachusetts, that story began here. That's because people of Massachusetts put everything on the line to fight for what they believed in. Farmers, carpenters, shopkeepers, tavern owners — they stood up with fear and uncertainty, but also with courage and resolve. They set in motion a Revolution that gave us our country and changed the world.

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