image description — Ecu-Health Care's Melissa Montoya, left, Karen Baumbach and Jessica Horn pose with the Health Connector's Executive Director Audrey Morse Gasteier, third from let, on the Grand Staircase at the State House.

North Adams Navigators Honored for Enrolling Residents In Affordable Health Plans

03:27PM / Wednesday, January 22, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Health Connector joined lawmakers at the State House to recognize representatives from community Navigator organizations, including Ecu-Health Care of North Adams, for their work to enroll residents into affordable Health Connector plans in advance of the upcoming deadline for Open Enrollment, which is Jan. 23.

Free, local help is available in-person and in multiple languages for residents applying for a plan with Ecu-Health Care, which serves Northern Berkshire, and other Navigator organizations across the commonwealth.

"Massachusetts requires everyone to have health insurance, so if you don’t have coverage, now is the time to enroll," said Audrey Morse Gasteier, the executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector. "The Health Connector provides help paying for coverage for many people, which means residents can get a plan that gives them access to the care and services they need. We are here to help enroll anyone without health insurance so they can kick off the new year with the peace of mind that comes with affordable, high-quality health coverage."

Most people who apply for coverage through the Health Connector qualify for ConnectorCare, which makes coverage more affordable through lower premiums and co-pays, and the elimination of deductibles.

ConnectorCare plans are only available through the Health Connector and provide no-cost prescriptions for chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. A two-year pilot program started in 2024 expands the income eligibility to the program, with income limits for 2025 plans at $75,300 for an individual and $156,000 for a family of four.

People can apply for ConnectorCare or other Health Connector coverage at MAhealthconnector.org, which also includes information on community Navigator locations. Ecu-Health Care is located on the North Adams Regional Hospital campus and can be reached at 413-663-8711.

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North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

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