Provider Profile – Suzanne Childs, BHS Occupational Therapist

Print Story | Email Story
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.




Tags: BHS,   BMC,   


Letter: When the Justice System Becomes a Tool for Harassment

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I am 74 years old. I spent 45 years in the professional painting trade and have always been known as a dedicated, law-abiding citizen, as well as a passionate self-taught artist and photographer. Yet, I have recently discovered a terrifying flaw in our legal system: it can be easily weaponized by individuals to harass and disrupt the lives of the innocent.

Just over a year ago, what began as a simple, justified complaint about unbearable noise in my apartment — my place of retirement and peace — spiraled into a nightmare. Instead of the system protecting my right to a quiet home, it allowed the upstairs neighbors to fabricate allegations and bring false criminal charges against me.

It is a bitter irony that a senior citizen with a clean record can be railroaded through a court system based on the word of individuals who show a disregard for the law. Even more distressing is seeing a parent stand by and support perjury rather than guiding their family toward integrity.

I am sharing my story because the public needs to know that simply being in the right isn't always enough to protect you. When the court allows itself to be used as a means of retaliation, it ceases to be a system of justice and becomes a system of shame. We must do better to protect our seniors from such blatant legal abuse.

Even though I moved out of that property months ago, on our most recent court date last week, the court again extended a restraining order against me based on completely unjustified complaints by the plaintiff.

We must hold our system accountable to ensure it protects the vulnerable rather than punishing them.

Sincerely,

Luciano Guadagno
Pittsfield, Mass. 

 

 

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories