BHS Holding Community Health Stakeholders Meeting

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As Berkshire Health Systems works to update its Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), the organization has scheduled a public meeting to seek input from the community on key health issues. 
 
The Community Health Stakeholder Meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, from noon to 1:30 pm at the Berkshire Innovation Center, 45 Woodlawn Ave., Pittsfield.
 
The Community Health Needs Assessment is updated every few years and highlights the numerous significant areas of focus for Berkshire Health Systems as an important part of its continual planning to provide care services across the region. The Stakeholder meeting will gather comments from community members to help inform the care being provided.
 
The meeting is open to all in the community. If individuals wish to attend, BHS asks that they RSVP by Aug. 25, 2025, by visiting https://tinyurl.com/CHNAMeeting. Questions can also be emailed to communications@bhs1.org.

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Dalton Becomes Purple Heart Community

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The town has been home to many veterans and soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in military service — a new proclamation honors their service and sacrifice.
 
The Select Board signed a proclamation declaring the town a Purple Heart Community, joining communities across the commonwealth to adopt this as a way to honor their local Purple Heart recipients. 
 
"This designation is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a public affirmation of Dalton's respect, gratitude, and enduring commitment to the men and women who have been wounded or killed in combat while serving in the United States Armed Forces," Historical Commission co-Chair Deborah Kovacs said at the Select Board meeting Monday night. 
 
The Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration that is still awarded to service members, recognizing their sacrifice, courage, and an unwavering devotion to the nation.
 
The Purple Heart originated on Aug. 7, 1782, when Gen. George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit to recognize enlisted soldiers and noncommissioned officers for exceptional service during the Revolutionary War. 
 
It fell out of use after the war but was revived in 1932 on Washington's 200th birthday under the leadership of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.  
 
Under the revival, it was still awarded for meritorious service or for combat wounds but during World War II this narrowed to service members wounded or killed as a direct or indirect result of enemy action. That wounds-only standard has remained in place ever since.
 
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