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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Lanesborough Selects Assistant Building Inspector

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:16PM / Saturday, February 28, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. –— The Select Board appointed an assisting building director on Wednesday.

Tim Sears submitted his resume to the board and said he heard about the position and reached out to Building Commissioner Brian Duval.

"It can be a tough position. And if you followed recent activities here in Lanesborough, I'm not stating the obvious, but can you talk a little bit about because you've done the work before, right?" asked member Michael Murphy.

Sears started as a housing inspector in Pittsfield and then became building commissioner there and a health official. He was also director of buildings and grounds for the Mount Greylock Regional School District. He currently works at AC Wood Contracting.

"I've had a lot of experience, and as someone who's in the construction industry, also, it can be challenging. If Brian knows someone, or if I know someone you know, we have to excuse ourselves and be very forthright about that," he said. "But in the end, the building code is a little different from some of the other code enforcement and law enforcement, where we have to be able to write down what the violation is, so it either is or isn't. You can't really, oppress someone because you need to write it down. You have to cite the code. So I think it's just very black and white.

"The challenge can sometimes be, you know, if a town feels a certain way about certain subjects, then my attitude has always been to look through the code to try to find a way to make something happen."

Sears said he has already talked with the owner of AC Wood Contracting and would be available to do an inspection during the day if needed.

The board moved to appoint Sears as the assistant building inspector.

In other notes, Town Administrator Gina Dario reminded the board of the joint meetings with the Finance Committee, which is something they are doing for the first time. Department heads will be invited to the meetings to go over their budget proposals to keep residents as informed as possible before the annual town meeting.

Monday, March 2, is the first joint meeting.

"We're always just trying to be as transparent as we can as we go through this kind of the crux of the budget season for the next three months, as we approach town meeting," Dario said.

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