CHP: How to Love Your Heart, for Heart Month

Submitted by Jonna Gaberman, MD 04:17PM / Wednesday, February 14, 2024Print Story | Email Story

Dr. Jonna Gaberman is CHP Berkshires Director of Adult Medicine and primary care physician at CHP Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield.

It's National Heart Month, so now is a good time to give some TLC to your body's most important muscle. Prevention is always the first step in keeping your heart healthy, but you can also make changes to address any existing heart conditions.

Key risk factors impacting the heart include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking, including second-hand smoke exposure.

What are some meaningful changes you can make to care for your heart? First, have a basic heart health screening with your primary care provider or with CHP Mobile Health. This will include a blood pressure check and screening for high cholesterol and diabetes.

If your blood pressure is elevated, set a goal to lower your salt intake to under 2,000 mg per day, and take care to read labels of soups and other foods for sodium content. Eating more fruits and vegetables, and getting more physical activity will help, too. You can also help your heart by eliminating or reducing alcohol use, as alcohol can contribute to elevated blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythm.

Diabetes screening is typically done with an A1C blood test, which indicates your blood sugar level over the past three months. If the result suggests a risk of diabetes, it's time to make some changes in your diet and exercise routine. Focus on whole grains, veggies, fruits, beans, nuts, lean proteins like fish and chicken, and healthy fats.

If you don't have regular time to exercise, try parking further away from your destination and walking more, or take the stairs more often at work. Any amount of physical activity is good, so, when possible, take a walk, a bike ride, go on a hike, or take a yoga class. Find a friend, family member, or colleague to join you and choose an activity that you enjoy. If you are a CHP patient and need a hand getting started, ask for a referral to our CHP Nutrition team.

If you are a smoker, talk to your PCP about different medications and strategies to help you to kick the habit, because smoking – and second-hand smoke – can also raise the risk of heart problems. There are many tools to help you quit, and the more often you try to stop, the more likely you will succeed.

Taking care of your heart health will impact your overall wellness and your mood. As always, check in with your CHP primary care provider. We are here to help.

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First Eagle Mill Units in Lee to Open in Springtime

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:02AM / Tuesday, February 03, 2026

Eagle Mills developer Jeffrey Cohen updates the Lee Chamber of Commerce as the project's phases, and the amount of heavy lifting to get it to this point.

LEE, Mass. — More than 50 affordable units are expected to come online at the Eagle Mill this spring.

This is the first of several planned development phases at the former paper mill that dates back to the early 1800s, totaling more than 200 units. The Lee Chamber of Commerce hosted an information session on the project during its Business Breakfast last Wednesday.

"We are here because we have a really big project that's happened for a very long time here in Lee, that, for myself, has provided a real sense of hope, and has has really defined this community as one of the few in the Berkshires that's really looking forward, as opposed to just being sort of stuck in the past," Chamber member Erik Williams said.

The estimated $60 million development broke ground in 2021 after nearly a decade of planning and permitting. Hundreds of workers once filed into the 8-acre complex, producing up to 165 tons of paper a week. The last mill on the property closed in 2008.

Hearthway is accepting applications for 56 affordable apartments called "The Lofts at Eagle Mill" with expected occupancy in May. The housing nonprofit was also approved for 45 additional units of new construction on the site.

Jeffrey Cohen of Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC said the project dates back to 2012, when a purchase contract was signed for the West Center Street property. The developers didn't have to close on the property until renovation plans were approved in 2017, and the mill was sold for $700,000.

It seemed like a great deal for the structure and eight acres on the Housatonic River, Cohen explained, but he wasn't aware of the complex pre-development costs, state, and local approvals it would entail. Seven individually owned homes adjacent to the property were also acquired and demolished for parking and site access.

"If I knew today what I knew then, I'm not sure we'd be sitting here," he said, joining the breakfast remotely over Zoom.

Cohen praised the town's government, explaining that the redesigns and critiques "Could not have been done in a friendlier way, in a more helpful way," and the two Massachusetts governors serving during the project's tenure. The Eagle Mill redevelopment is supported by state and federal grants, as well as low-income housing tax credits.

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