Hospital officials were at the open house on Wednesday to tour the new urgent care facility.
LENOX, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems is gearing toward opening its new urgent care facility in The Center at Lenox.
On Wednesday night, BHS held an open house for people to come and tour the new facility before its opening on Monday.
The health system opened an urgent care at 505 East St. in Pittsfield in 2015. But annual visits doubled from just over 17,000 patients in 2020 compared to more than 35,000 in 2023.
"At the end of the pandemic, we saw an increase in our usage, community usage, of our urgent care. We found it a little difficult about the demand. Wait times are long, we're seeing as many people as we can, upwards of 115 120 per day in Pittsfield, but we realize that that's not it's not enough." said Rob Shearer, administrative director of urgent care services.
This led to BHS to expand to be able to help more patients more efficiently.
"We did a ZIP code analysis to see what the utilization was and where people were coming from," Shearer said. "And there's a large population that comes from South County so this just worked out to be a really perfect location. Hopefully, we'll offload a little bit of our volume in Pittsfield, bring those wait times down, and then we'll be able to manage both a little bit more efficiently than we are," .
The urgent care center at 489 Pittsfield Road will be about the same as the one in Pittsfield but occupational health will be designated there as well as predominantly having a travel clinic at this location.
"There's going to be some 'occ' health that's designated, as this is the site, and one of the things that we talked about, the travel clinic, we'll do that predominantly here just because we will have all the vaccines that you might need in one of the fridges," said Dr. Michael McHugh, chair of the emergency departments at Berkshire Medical Center and North Adams Regional Hospital.
Many residents who came to the open house to take a tour and ask questions of staff were amazed at the new place and excited for the convenience it will bring them.
"This is right between where I live in Lee and where I hang out in Pittsfield so it's very convenient," said Clark Nicholls. "And it's a great facility. The exam rooms are quite sizable; it looks like they have a lot of equipment, more than [the urgent care at] St. Luke's Square, so I look forward to if I need it I'll be coming here."
"We are about three minutes away if we needed to come, otherwise we will have to go to the hospital or Great Barrington or St. Luke's," Joe Sloane of Pittsfield said.
"We're just so thrilled that something's closer for us to get to because we always either go to Pittsfield or Great Barrington or wherever you have to go so now it's right here," said Lenox resident Nancy Thompson. "So you're going to get a lot more people I think in this location especially in the summertime with Tanglewood people, 'cause we don't really have anything that they can get to quickly as this is the place so, yeah, very excited."
Like the current location in Pittsfield, this facility will offer X-rays, sports physicals, vaccinations, and more including telehealth services. Patients can book online or inside.
Berkshire Health Urgent Care in Lenox will accept a wide variety of health insurance plans, including private commercial coverage, Medicare and MassHealth through the Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative, all of which are also accepted at the Pittsfield Berkshire Health Urgent Care location.
The facility will open its doors at 8 a.m. Monday, March 17, and closes at 8 p.m. everyday; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Pittsfield 2025 Year in Review
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city continued to grapple with homelessness in 2025 while seeing a glimmer of hope in upcoming supportive housing projects.
Founders James Shulman and his wife, Jackie, offered it to the city through a conveyance and donation of property, which was met with some hesitation before it was withdrawn.
Now, a group of more than 50 volunteers learned everything from running the ride to detailing the horses, and it is run by nonprofit Berkshire Carousel Inc., with the Shulmans supporting operating costs.
Median and Camping Petitions
Conversations about homelessness resumed in Council Chambers when Mayor Peter Marchetti proposed a median standing and public camping ban to curb negative behaviors in the downtown area. Neither of the ordinances reached the finish line, and community members swarmed the public comment podium to urge the city to lead with compassion and housing-first solutions.
"If you look at this as a public safety issue, which I will grant that this is entirely put forward as a public safety issue, there are other issues that might rate higher that need our attention more with limited resources," said former Ward 7 councilor Rhonda Serre.
Protesters and public commenters said the ordinance may be framed as a public safety ordinance, but actually targets poor and vulnerable community members, and that criminalizing activities such as panhandling and protesting infringes on First Amendment rights and freedom of speech.
Some housing solutions came online in 2025 amidst the discourse about housing insecurity in Pittsfield.
The city celebrated nearly 40 new supportive units earlier in December. This includes nine units at "The First" located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. A ceremony was held in the new Housing Resource Center on First Street, which was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
These units are permanent supportive housing, a model that combines affordable housing with voluntary social services.
Pittsfield supported the effort with $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds and some Community Development Block Grant funds. Hearthway, formerly Berkshire Housing Development Corp., is managing the apartments and currently accepting applications.
After the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee completed its work with a formal recommendation in 2024, news about the park was quiet while the city planned its next move.
The ice rink was originally proposed for Clapp Park, but when the project was put out to bid, the system came back $75,000 higher than the cost estimate, and the cost estimates for temporary utilities were over budget. The city received a total of $200,000 in donations from five local organizations for the effort.
Last year, there was $18 million committed between grant funding and capital borrowing.
The Parks Commission recently accepted a negotiating rights agreement between the city and longtime summer collegiate baseball team, the Pittsfield Suns, that solidifies that the two will work together when the historic ballpark is renovated.
It remains in effect until the end of 2027, or when a license or lease agreement is signed. Terms will be automatically extended to the end of 2028 if it appears the facility won't be complete by then.
William Stanley Business Park
Site 9, the William Stanley Business Park parcel, formerly described to have looked like the face of the moon, was finished in early 2025, and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority continues to prepare for new tenants.
Mill Town Capital is planning to develop a mixed-use building on the 16.5-acre site, and housing across Woodlawn Avenue on an empty parcel. About 25,000 cubic yards of concrete slabs, foundations, and pavements had to be removed and greened over.
There is also movement at the Berkshire Innovation Center as it begins a 7,000-square-foot expansion to add an Advanced Manufacturing for Advanced Optics Tech Hub and bring a new company, Myrias, to Pittsfield.
Voters chose new City Council members and a largely new School Committee during the municipal election in November. The council will be largely the same, as only two councilors will be new.
Earl Persip III, Peter White, Alisa Costa, and Kathleen Amuso held their seats as councilors at large. There were no races for wards 1, 3, and 4. Patrick Kavey was re-elected to Ward 5 after winning the race against Michael Grady, and Lampiasi was re-elected to Ward 6 after winning the race against Walter Powell.
Nine candidates ran to fill the six-seat committee. Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Daniel Elias, Katherine Yon, Heather McNeice, and Carolyn Barry were elected for two-year terms.
Katherine Nagy Moody secured representation of Ward 7 over Anthony Maffuccio, and Cameron Cunningham won the Ward 2 seat over Corey Walker. Both are new to the council.
In October, Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre stepped down to work for the Pittsfield Public Schools.
In 2025, the city remained challenged by the homelessness crisis, though the development of new supportive housing offered a promising outlook. click for more
The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. click for more
Disrepaired houses at 154 Francis Ave. and 224 Fourth St. will be demolished as part of the city's yearly efforts to address condemned properties. click for more
Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 100 Northumberland Road.
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