Provider Profile – Suzanne Childs, BHS Occupational Therapist

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Across the country, there are nearly 135,000 Occupational Therapists, and Suzanne Childs, who provides this specialized care at the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC, says OT goes beyond helping someone regain their functions for work.
 
"We promote functional independence for people and help restore not only vocational skills, but also homemaking and daily living skills," said Childs. "Occupational Therapy covers the full range of activities people of all ages do to live functional, meaningful lives."
 
Suzanne has been with BMC since 1994 and has served as an Occupational Therapist in the Berkshires for nearly 30 years, most of that time in the outpatient setting. She came to the Berkshires after providing OT services in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and later New York state.
 
"Occupational Therapists often work together with Physical Therapists, but our roles are quite unique. PT focuses on improving the patient's ability to move their body, whereas I concentrate on improving my patient's ability to perform activities of daily living. We help our patients to do things beyond their PT care, such as brushing their teeth, getting dressed, making meals and all of their other everyday tasks that may have been impeded by an illness or injury."
 
Suzanne is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and completed her clinical education at Toledo Mental Health in Ohio and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. Over the years, she has provided care for spinal cord injury, stroke, post-acute rehabilitation for children and young adults and general rehabilitation.
 
If you need Occupational Therapy or any kind of rehabilitative care, ask your primary care provider for a referral or call the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC at 413-447-2234.




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Pittsfield Rolls Out Reassignments for Morningside Students Next Year

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As it prepares to retire Morningside Community School, the Pittsfield Public Schools recommends sending cohorts of its students to other elementaries rather than redrawing attendance boundaries. 

A public hearing was held at the school on Tuesday so that community members could comment on three different options for Morningside students next year: 

  • Option 1: Adjusts some attendance zones, including moving a portion of the Allendale Elementary School neighborhood to Williams Elementary School for transportation efficiency. 
  • Option 2: A larger district-wide redistricting model that would affect multiple schools. 
  • Option 3: Reassigns students currently attending Morningside to receiving schools without changing attendance zones for other elementary schools. 

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips explained that option three is recommended because it prioritizes keeping cohorts of Morningside students together while minimizing broader boundary changes during the first phase of elementary redistricting. 

Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools have been identified to welcome Morningside students in the fall. 

"And I say first phase because as many are aware, we're in the process of the West Side School construction project, and moving forward, we currently are in a feasibility study, and there will be decisions that are made regarding Crosby Elementary, Conte Community School, and Stearns Elementary School," Phillips added. 

"The district will need to revisit attendance boundaries as part of our future planning efforts, so at that time, option one or option two, or variations of those models may be considered." 

The district is seeking up to 80 percent reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a consolidated and combined rebuild of Crosby and Conte on West Street. 

Per district policy, a public hearing must be held any time a school building is closed or attendance boundaries are revised.  Last week, three community meetings were held at different times of the day, and the feedback received was compiled into an FAQ sheet presented on Tuesday. 

The administration worked with a redistricting consultant to develop the three possible options, which were displayed in the Morningside cafeteria for the hearing.  Data on student population trends, school capacities, population density, transportation considerations, walk and ride distances, and long-term enrollment projections informed the proposals. 

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