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 Advises Outreach Program

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
10:20AM / Tuesday, February 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Board of Health is advising against a public camping ordinance.

Instead, it recommends an alternative community response program that connects unhoused individuals with resources.

On Wednesday, the board approved its recommendations for addressing housing insecurity in the city, which will go to the City Council on Tuesday. The controversial camping ordinance was sent to the health officials in September 2025, and they have determined it is not the best approach for Pittsfield.

After months of consideration and a visit to the Northampton Division of Community Care, they recommend piloting an alternative community response program with two new homeless service coordinators who would begin work in the spring.

"We believe that a public health and a continued thoughtful community outreach plan will provide the best chance at addressing the challenge of homelessness in our community," the plan reads.

"This effort must be driven by metrics, and anchored by strong partnerships with existing public and municipal service agencies. This also means that there will still be enforcement actions required for illegal behaviors, but our overall emphasis will be social action and follow-up support."

It comes with seven recommendations: Take the camping ordinance off the table; develop an alternative community response program within the Health Department; create and maintain a community resource asset map; drive the program and processes with data through a HIPAA Compliant data system; staff training; a focus on homelessness related issues in public spaces in the downtown area; and to strengthen the relationship with Pittsfield Police Department co-responders without a dispatch-based system.

Director of Public Health Andy Cambi reported that he has a budget available for these items, partially through a vacant social worker position that has been on hold, and he envisions the service coordinators starting in May.

Tuesday's agenda item will be brought forward by Mayor Peter Marchetti, who Cambi said is supportive of this conversation's outcome.