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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Pittsfield Health Board Upholds Berkshire Pipe License Revocation

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:21PM / Thursday, January 08, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city has lost another tobacco permit, and Berkshire Pipe and Tobacco was advised to find a different product to sell.

On Wednesday, the Board of Health reaffirmed its Dec. 3 decision to revoke the 17-year-old business's tobacco license, which has been suspended since March. While the shop owners were apologetic, the board upheld its decision because of repeated violations and a citation from the Department of Revenue for untaxed tobacco products.

"Unfortunately, you're in a situation where, having been given a number of chances to get off suspension, get off fines, you've gotten to the point where you're selling an unlicensed product in our city, despite the fact that you shouldn't have anything on site, you actually have stuff that's illegal in the state so I can't think of any other way we can deal with this, other than to leave it as a revocation," board member Dr. Jeffrey Leppo said.

"Otherwise, we might as well just simply say any store could do this, and there's no consequence. And we're not about to say that."

No new applications are being accepted for tobacco permits in Pittsfield, meaning that when a permit is revoked, it goes away. The tobacco permit for Gulf Food Mart on Wahconah Street was revoked last year.

Director of Public Health Andy Cambi reported that an August inspection by the DOR found untaxed products on site while the tobacco license was suspended. If not revoked, it would have been up for renewal on Dec. 11.

"My sense is that we have given this establishment enough opportunities to go through their inventory to make sure they don't have tobacco products. We have gone out and done multiple inspections where there have been times that we have not found any tobacco products, there have been times that we have found tobacco products," he said.

Store representative Nipun Saluja reported that the store passed inspection in May and June and provided the board with a letter, which was not read aloud. He said the store was initially given a one-month suspension that turned into a 10-month suspension.

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