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 Peer Outreach Program Forming

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Health Department's outreach program, which connects individuals on the streets to needed services, is shaping up. 

On Monday, the Ordinances and Rules Subcommittee supported adding the community health program manager position as part of the department's new initiative. 

Last year's controversial camping ordinance was sent to the Board of Health, and they determined it is not the best approach for Pittsfield. It was officially scrapped by the City Council earlier this year and replaced with a peer outreach program that provides harm reduction support services, navigation, and relationship-building with vulnerable residents.  

Director of Human Resources Michael Taylor told councilors that this is part of the department's more proactive community-centered approach to addressing the issues in Pittsfield. 

"This position will help directly address prevention, access to services, different social determinants of health, and community well-being through different coordinated outreach and engagement," he said. 

"The department previously had employed the position of a social worker, so we've kind of reclassified, revamped the position to better meet the needs of what we anticipate this program to be." 

The community health program manager, employed under the Health Department, has an M8 grade salary for 35 hours per week, earning roughly between $77,000 and $108,000 per year. 

According to the job description, the position oversees Pittsfield's peer outreach initiative while advancing the long-term vision for the health department to be a more proactive, community-centered public health agency, as well as the health department's evolving responsibility to address prevention, access to services, social determinants of health, and community well-being through coordinated outreach and engagement. 

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