BHS Hospitals Recognized For Their Commitment to Providing High-Quality Cardiovascular Care

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Medical Center, Fairview Hospital and North Adams Regional Hospital have received 18 American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

In 2026, Berkshire Medical Center received five awards, Fairview Hospital had six awards, and North Adams Regional Hospital was recognized with seven awards.

BMC, Fairview and North Adams Regional also received the 2026 Get With The Guidelines Commitment to Quality Award, provided to an elite group of hospitals having reached an achievement level in three or more Get With The Guidelines programs, stated a press release. 

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 4 causes of death in the United States, respectively, according to the American Heart?Association's?2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. Studies show patients can experience better outcomes when care teams consistently follow evidence-based treatment guidelines.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest science-backed guidelines. As a participant in the Get With The Guidelines programs, Berkshire Health Systems' hospitals qualified for the awards by demonstrating a sustained commitment to improving the quality of cardiovascular care.

"Berkshire Health Systems is committed to delivering high-quality care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and streamlining processes to ensure timely, appropriate care for heart attacks and strokes," said James Lederer, MD, BHS Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer. "Get With The Guidelines programs help our teams put proven science into practice every day, supporting better outcomes so more people in the Berkshires can live longer, healthier lives."

This year, BHS received these achievement awards: 

Berkshire Medical Center

  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD STEMI Referring Gold  
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD NSTEMI Bronze 
  • Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus 
  • Get With The Guidelines - Heart Failure Gold Plus, with Target: Heart Failure Optimal and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll
  • Get With The Guidelines – Commitment to Quality  

Fairview Hospital  

  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD Bronze Referring  
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD Rural STEMI Gold 
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD Rural NSTE-ACS Silver
  • Get With The Guidelines - Heart Failure Rural Gold 
  • Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Rural Silver
  • Get With The Guidelines – Commitment to Quality 

North Adams Regional Hospital

  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD NSTEMI-ACS Silver
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD NSTEMI Bronze
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD STEMI Referring Bronze  
  • Get With The Guidelines - CAD Rural STEMI Gold 
  • Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Rural Silver 
  • Get With The Guidelines - Heart Failure Rural Silver 
  • Get With The Guidelines – Commitment to Quality

 


Tags: BHS,   BMC,   Fairview Hospital,   

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Pittsfield: Should Park Square Be an Historic District?

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The committee drafting a proposed local historic district around Park Square wants to generate interest and participation in the process. 

Members launched the charge during meetings in August and September. A survey and public hearing are planned to gather feedback early on. 

City Planner Kevin Rayner explained they are not just doing this out of a love for historic buildings, but for the timeless sense of place you get when you step into Park Square, which was laid out over 200 years ago and hosted the first-ever agricultural fair in 1810. 

"I think that the main thing that we need to kind of park on is that this is the heart of our community, and it really sets the stage for the sense of place in Pittsfield, and any change to that should have some review and some consensus from folks who have a passion for protecting the history and that character of Pittsfield," he said to the new Local Historic District Study Committee last week. 

"And there's that private property versus historic resource thing, but I’d say that a lot of these buildings on the square belong to the soul of Pittsfield here, and deserve to be protected, and I don't think that the layer of regulation that we're throwing down here is going to be unreasonable or a real boundary." 

In March, the City Council voted to amend the City Code, Chapter 2, to establish the study committee.

Pittsfield has more than 20 locations on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Park Square Historical District, but the designation just allows communities to apply for federal tax credits and doesn't impose restrictions on buildings. The central area was laid out a few decades after Pittsfield was given a town charter in 1761.

A district can be one building, several buildings, or an area. Historic restrictions only apply to the exterior of buildings; the committee has authority to say a building in the district cannot be demolished. 

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