BMC Named to U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for Maternity Care

10:41AM / Wednesday, February 05, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has named Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) as a 2025 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care.

This is the highest award a hospital can earn as part of U.S. News' Best Hospitals for Maternity Care annual study.

"The exceptional care provided to our maternity patients is exemplified in this national recognition," said Tejas Gandhi, BHS System Vice President and BMC Chief Operating Officer. "The physicians, nurses and staff of the BMC Family Birthplace are prime examples of the outstanding care that BMC's patients can rely on day in and day out."

U.S. News began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021, rating hospitals that provide labor and delivery services and submit detailed data to the publication for analysis. Best Hospitals for Maternity Care assist expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, in making informed decisions about where to receive maternity services that best meets their family's needs.

"The BMC Family Birthplace is committed to only the highest standards for our Berkshire families celebrating their newborns," said James Lederer, MD, BHS Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer. "Our community can count on these dedicated providers using the most advanced maternal child health services and technology to care for birthing parents and their infants."

Berkshire Medical Center's Family Birthplace earned a High Performing designation in recognition of maternity care as measured by factors such as severe unexpected newborn complication rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.

"The hospitals recognized by U.S. News as Best Hospitals for Maternity Care showcase exceptional care for expectant parents," said Jennifer Winston, Ph.D., health data scientist at U.S. News. "These hospitals demonstrate significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News."

The U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, birthing-friendly practices and reporting on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.

For more information, visit U.S. News's Best Hospitals for Maternity Care site.

Tags: BHS, BMC,

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EPA, GE Conducting Vernal Pool Study on Housatonic River

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
11:44AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A pilot study will determine the best way to remediate PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, from vernal pools in the Housatonic River.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric held an open house for the Vernal Pool Pilot Study on Reach 5A, a five-mile stretch between the river's confluence and Lenox border. Despite the rain, several people attended the event at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

EPA project manager Josh Fontaine explained that it is an evaluation of which remediation method to use for the remaining vernal pools in Reach 5A.

"We're going to be testing two different methods. One is an excavation method, which we already know has been very successful with another vernal pool cleaned up much earlier in the project," he said.

"And then the other is the application of two different carbon amendments. It would be the application of powdered activated carbon and the application of granulated activated carbon."

Ten vernal pools will be cleaned using these methods: five with excavation and five with active carbon; seven additional vernal pools will be monitored as controls. Construction will be complete around October, but the pools will be left to their natural processes and monitored with surveys and sampling for three years.

Fontaine said there is no frontrunner for methodology.

"We know the excavation method is effective, but we would like to see if the less invasive method of using the amendment will be as effective for potential use," he said.

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