PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As part of Employee Appreciation Month in May, Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) recognized seven employees with annual CARE Awards and two Providers of the Year honors.
CARE Awards celebrate the health system's core values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence, and employees who were honored work across the system at Berkshire Medical Center, Fairview Hospital, North Adams Regional Hospital, and BMC and Fairview Provider Practices.
Providers of the Year Honors
Providers of the Year were Maribeth Pomerantz, Certified Nurse Midwife at Berkshire OBGYN of BMC, and Adam Gicewicz, MD, a pediatrician at Berkshire Health Pediatrics.
Pomerantz was recognized for the personalized care she provides to expectant mothers. Her co-workers said, "There are many examples of her commitment to individual patients. She doesn't hesitate to add them to her schedule so that they can have a timely visit. She truly goes over the top in support of her patients and their families."
Dr. Gicewicz was cited for his ability to "ease the natural anxiety that any child must have when going to the doctor. One thing Dr. Gicewicz does is wear a multitude of different colored sneakers, and all the children love this. He understands all the different age groups associated with our practice and can relate to them on a level that is comfortable for them, making their visit that much better for both patient and parents."
CARE Award Winners
Ellen Beckwith, RN, is a Charge Nurse at Fairview Hospital and she was lauded by colleagues, who said, "Ellen consistently demonstrates exceptional compassion and dedication in patient care. I have had the privilege to witness Ellen having a profound impact on patients and colleagues. Ellen possesses the unique ability to provide not only outstanding clinical care but also emotional support that truly makes a difference in the lives of patients and their families."
Frank Bentz is the Environmental Services Supervisor at the Hillcrest Campus of BMC. His team said, "With an extraordinary 36-year career in Environmental Services, Frank has exemplified what it means to be a committed, ethical, dependable, and hardworking team member. Frank is someone you would want in your foxhole. Throughout his long tenure at BHS, Frank has consistently upheld the highest standards of cleanliness, customer service, and safety."
Richard "Ricky" Cyrulik, Environmental Services Specialist, North Adams Regional Hospital, "is a seasoned team member in the EVS department at NARH who has exemplified extraordinary contributions to the team. He is consistently willing to help out anywhere in the hospital. Ricky always responds as quickly as he can with a positive attitude. Ricky was assigned to the emergency department and after one week of being there I heard from multiple staff members that they are so appreciative that he is there."
Noel Henebury, Recruiter, BHS Human Resources, was honored for how she interacts with those she is recruiting. "Noel is also highly invested in the people she encounters in our Talent Acquisition Program. She attends every RN pinning ceremony and when her new hires start, she makes it a point to meet with them when they are filling out paperwork and meets them at their orientation. Her enthusiasm for her tasks goes beyond a focus on those she is recruiting. She truly feels that recruiters change people's lives by hiring them to work here."
Yvette Losaw, RN, 5 West Surgical/Ortho, Berkshire Medical Center, was recognized for her patient-centered care. "She takes charge in difficult situations in a calm, confident manner, with just the right amount of humor. Yvette advocates for her patients to make sure that they get the care that they need. She has outstanding clinical skills. I would want her to be my nurse or my loved one's nurse, if we ever needed one."
Gwen McCarroll, Information Technology Engineer, BHS Information Technology, recognized for being "hardworking, collaborative, supportive and a team player. She can decipher report request needs with ease and patience. She continues to work tirelessly to ensure that users have what they need, and data is accurate."
Randy Wallingford, RN, Behavioral Health, Berkshire Medical Center, was honored for his compassionate approach to his patients. "It is unfathomable to attempt to consider the number of lives Randy has touched, the number of souls he has had a hand in healing through the years. His commitment to inclusive and excellent patient care, and to treating everyone around him with kindness and respect has been remarkably enduring and inspiring."
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Capeless Students Raise $5,619 for Charity
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students at Capeless Elementary School celebrated the season of giving by giving back to organizations that they feel inspired them.
On Monday night, 28 fourth-grade students showed off the projects they did to raise funds for an organization of their choice. They had been given $5 each to start a small business by teachers Jeanna Newton and Lidia White.
Newton created the initiative a dozen years ago after her son did one while in fifth grade at Craneville Elementary School, with teacher Teresa Bills.
"And since it was so powerful to me, I asked her if I could steal the idea, and she said yes. And so the following year, I began, and I've been able to do it every year, except for those two years (during the pandemic)," she said. "And it started off as just sort of a feel-good project, but it has quickly tied into so many of the morals and values that we teach at school anyhow, especially our Portrait of a Graduate program."
Students used the venture capital to sell cookies, run raffles, make jewelry, and more. They chose to donate to charities and organizations like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Berkshire Humane Society and Toys for Tots.
"Teaching them that because they have so much and they're so blessed, recognizing that not everybody in the community has as much, maybe not even in the world," said Newton. "Some of our organizations were close to home. Others were bigger hospitals, and most of our organizations had to do with helping the sick or the elderly, soldiers, people in need."
Once they have finished and presented their projects, the students write an essay on what they did and how it makes them feel.
"So the essay was about the project, what they decided to do, how they raised more money," Newton said. "And now that the project is over, this week, we're writing about how they feel about themselves and we've heard everything from I feel good about myself to this has changed me."
Sandra Kisselbrock raised $470 for St. Jude's by selling homemade cookies.
"It made me feel amazing and happy to help children during the holiday season," she said.
Gavin Burke chose to donate to the Soldier On Food Pantry. He shoveled snow to earn money to buy the food.
"Because they helped. They used to fight for our country and used to help protect us from other countries invading our land and stuff," he said.
Desiree Brignoni-Lay chose to donate to Toys for Tots and bought toys with the $123 she raised.
Luke Tekin raised $225 for the Berkshire Humane Society by selling raffle tickets for a basket of instant hot chocolate and homemade ricotta cookies because he wanted to help the animals.
"Because animals over, like I'm pretty sure, over 1,000 animals are abandoned each year, he said. "So I really want that to go down and people to adopt them."
Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, and a little bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.
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A 700-square-foot outdoor water attraction is planned for the 2.1-acre park at 30 John Street. City officials hope to have it operational by summertime.
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