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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Berkshire Mall Owners Press for Road District Dissolution

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Berkshire Mall owner JMJ RE Holdings says without a dissolution of the Baker Hill Road District, the potential sale and redevelopment with the mall would fall through.
 
The Select Board last week authorized two of its members to work on a compromise between the JMJ and the road district. The two entities have been at loggerheads over assessments to the district — and the district's purpose.
 
Tim Grogan, development consultant for JMJ RE Holdings, recently responded to iBerkshires' coverage of the meeting, during which the board discussed mediation but took no comments from the public or the mall owners. 
 
Grogan said JMJ has been under purchase contract with real estate developer Cypress Equities since May and has an intention to close in the fall.
 
"We are contractually obligated to deliver the property with the BHRD dissolved. If that does not happen, the mall will not get redeveloped. If the BHRD is not dissolved, the transaction with Cypress cannot close," said Grogan over email. "That is not a position JMJ adopted as leverage. It is the express term of a fully executed purchase and sale agreement. Should the town proceed in a manner that departs from the existing settlement framework, JMJ will evaluate all available claims to protect its contractual rights."
 
The town had initially agreed to seek the dissolution of the district through the Legislature based on JMJ paying $1.1 million to resolve all tax disputes. But that article was pulled from the annual town meeting when town officials said the mall's owners failed to make payment by the deadline. 
 
The road district was established 40 years ago to maintain the Connector Road between Routes 7 and 8 and assess the mall for fire and police protection. The mall closed in 2019 and its various owners since then have sought to redevelop the property. 
 
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