Fairview Hospital Receives Awards for Stroke Care

10:03AM / Friday, July 19, 2024Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Fairview Hospital has been twice recognized for its stroke care by the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Berkshire Health Systems said Fairview was honored for "Achieving Door to CT Less Than or Equal to 25 Minutes From Arrival for at Least 85 percent of Stroke Patients" and "Dysphagia Screening Greater Than or Equal to 90 percent."

The Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program is a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded quality improvement collaborative administered by DPH that supports Primary Stroke Service hospitals.

The door-to-CT measure demonstrates the percentage of stroke patients receiving a computed tomography, or CT, scan in less than or equal to 25 minutes from the time of arrival at the emergency department. For the award, the measure includes all eligible stroke patients who arrived at the hospital by emergency medical services and within 4.5 hours of "Last Known Well" (the date and time when a patient was last known to be without signs and symptoms of the current stroke or at their baseline). Hospitals are encouraged to include EMS agencies in quality improvement activities aimed at improving this measure.

The dysphagia award recognizes hospitals that completed dysphagia screening on at least 90 percent of stroke patients from January 2023 to December 2023. The dysphagia screening measure captures the percentage of stroke patients who undergo screening for dysphagia with an evidence-based bedside testing protocol approved by the hospital before being given any food, fluids, or medication by mouth.

"Fairview Hospital provides outstanding care for the south Berkshire community," said Dr. James Lederer, Berkshire Health Systems chief medical officer/chief quality officer. "The staff at Fairview is committed to providing quality stroke care, recognized by these prestigious awards from the DPH Coverdell Stroke Program."

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the commonwealth and a leading cause of adult disability. Immediate assessment and treatment are critical to help improve outcomes.

Knowing the key signs and symptoms of stroke and calling 9-1-1 immediately can save a life. The FAST acronym is an easy way to remember:

Face: Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile
Arm: Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms
Speech: Does the speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a phrase
Time: If you observe these symptoms, call 9-1-1

For more information about the Massachusetts Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program, or about FAST and the DPH stroke awareness campaign, visit: www.mass.gov/dph/heartstroke.

Tags: awards, BHS, BMC, Fairview Hospital, stroke,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

09:57AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.

"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."

Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year.

Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU.

"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."

"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."

View Full Story