BMC, Berkshire Orthopaedic Recognized For Fragility Fracture Patient Care

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems' community teaching hospital, Berkshire Medical Center (BMC), in partnership with BHS's affiliate provider clinic at Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates (BOA), announced their ninth straight year of recognition as an Own the Bone Star Performer, a designation granted by the American Orthopaedic Association reserved for institutions that perform the highest level of fragility fracture and bone health care.  
 
BMC joins over 300 health care institutions nationwide that have participated in Own the Bone and its national web-based quality improvement registry, which provides BMC with the tools to support and treat fragility fracture patients. 
 
Through participation in Own the Bone and recognition as an Own the Bone Star Performer, BMC has demonstrated a commitment to helping patients understand their risk for future fractures and the steps they can take to prevent them. Own the Bone Star Performers like BMC must achieve a 75 percent compliance rate with at least 5 of the 10 Own the Bone prevention measures including: educating patients on the importance of calcium and vitamin D, physical activity, fall prevention, limiting alcohol intake, and smoking cessation; recommending and initiating bone mineral density testing; discussing pharmacotherapy and treatment (when applicable); and providing written communication to the patient and their physician regarding specific risk factors and treatment recommendations.  
 
BMC met 10 of 10 measures during the period of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 and screened 177 patients. 
 
"Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates and BMC are proud to partner in this national effort to aid our patients who suffer from osteoporosis-related fractures," said Anthony DeFelice, DO, the surgeon who leads the program for the Berkshire practice. "This is a group effort, and all members of our care team are focused on helping our patients take advantage of our support services so they can get back to their active lifestyles." 
 
Although more than 53 million Americans already have osteoporosis or are at high risk due to low bone mass, most will go undiagnosed and untreated. Due to an aging population, the number of Americans with osteoporosis or low bone density is expected to increase significantly.  

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Companion Corner: Baby at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and chatty girl at the Berkshire Humane Society awaiting her new home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Baby is a 10-year-old shorthair feline that has been at the shelter since December.

Feline/small animal adoption counselor Alyssa Petell introduced us to her.

"She is our lovely senior lady. She's about 10 years old, is what we estimate her to be. She's a very, very affectionate, sweet girlie," she said. 

Baby came from a home that couldn't care for her anymore because of an abundance of animals in the house. 

"When she first came in, she, of course, was surrendered because there were so many animals in the home that people couldn't handle the amount of animals they had, mostly cats. I think there was a dog, but it was too much for them," Petell said. "We quickly realized she had an upper respiratory infection, and she eventually got over it. It did take her a pretty long time, but she's since recovered from that issue, and she's doing much, much better."

Even though she came from a family of animals she would do well as the only pet. 

"The perfect home for our girl, baby would be a nice, quiet home with adults, preferably adults only. She does not like other animals, although she did come from a home with a bunch of other animals, she prefers to be the only pet in the home," she said. "But she is a very lovely girl, and I think that she would do really well in a nice home, quiet, maybe older people."

Baby is quite affectionate, curious, and can be quirky.

"I honestly think she is a very, very sweet girl. She loves … one quirky thing that she does is walls. She pretends that they're scratching posts, so she'll kind of scratch them a little bit. And it's very, very funny. She does that in her cage. She loves her scratching posts."

She also loves to play with toys and eat treats. 

"She actually does have a pretty playful side when she gets the time. I've seen her have the zoomies before, and it was very cute. Once she has the space and the energy, she does like to play and chase things around, Baby, she's very curious," Petell said.

She also loves to have conversations with you and will chat with you all day if she could.

"She's a very, very sweet girl. She will come up to you and rub on you and give you all the love in the world. She's also very vocal. She will talk to you all the time," she said.

Baby is a senior and she might need some dental work and some blood work to make sure she is completely healthy.

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