Open letter to the CEO and president of Berkshire Health Systems

October 18, 2012

Mr. David E.  Phelps, President & CEO

Berkshire Health Systems-Berkshire Medical Center

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Dear Mr. Phelps:

Normally after a visit to the emergency room (ER) and admission to one of the floors (telemetry), the feedback (on the staff, food, etc.) can be across the board.

Briefly: I was admitted on Oct. 5 via the ER and was released on Oct. 11 after being diagnosed with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. Years ago, either one could have a deadly consequence.

This letter is more of a signal that Berkshire Medical Center has a role to play as a rural community hospital and its continued treatment of the ill.

There are some good things happening with the $30 million planned expansion of the cancer center at Hillcrest Hospital and its subsequent affiliation with Dana Farber, which can lead to direct medical involvement for the local patient along with federal monies for both Dana Farber and BMC.

Then there is the integration of Berkshire Community College nursing program with BMC, along with new personnel to deal with the medical issues within the area.

If BMC is to advance, it needs to upgrade its technical and software systems. While I was there, the system failed! Not good.

While there are many that deserve a note of thanks, I am going to limit my thoughts to some personnel that made an extra difference in my care. In so doing, you may wish to offer your own thoughts.

–Dr. Robbie Adam–Eldien, head of the fourth floor telemetry, came down to the ER and said he could fix the (medical) problems, but it would take several days. His smile and goodwill are part of the healing process.

–Sue Cook, a registered nurse, reached out to make sure the meds were sought and applied accordingly. She came in on her off day to check on my recovery. Sometimes one can tell there is more than just the average nurse-patient relationship, as was the case here.

–Fredina Davis, a BMC nursing assistant and mother of two boys: her smile and good wishes made each day pleasant and bright.

Herein is a case where the hospital and BCC can merge their efforts to make sure Ms. Davis has the opportunity of advancement through education to become a registered nurse.

-I met Constance M. Flynn, head of the BCC nursing program, and one day while I was there, she had several students on the floor doing their clinicals. I wanted Ms. Flynn and Ms. Davis to meet. Sometimes it only takes a mentor to help advance a student’s interest.

-From that, Luis Machado, a BCC nursing student, spent the day with me, following various procedures including walking the hallways and monitoring my changes. It was like having my own private nurse helping me to regain my footing.

-Then there was Mike Barry, a nurse who had a Hollywood bent to him (Gary Grubbs in Fatal Vision, who prosecuted Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, in the death of his wife and children). He likes working the night shift.

I believed he graduated from BCC but did a lot of his initial nursing career in the Albany hospitals, where patients were treated as numbers: patients were stacked on floors and along the corridors. It was the negative medical urban lifestyle. Prudent, effective, but not exactly one would want for their love ones at a community hospital.

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Today BMC and its health services are leading the way into the future of medicine and care.

The Berkshire Beacon and The Berkshire Sonata – a weekly and a tourist publication – are part of the growing publications for Berkshire County. We seek to serve our readers from the 31 cities and towns in Berkshire County.

I think one model that Berkshire Health Systems should seek is an insurance plan for small businesses along with families from the middle class. There has to be a sharing of mutual costs and this model can help rural Massachusetts excel in filling the void of non-insurable people.

***

Again, we as residents of Berkshire County can be thankful BMC is facing the challenges of the future, and it shows in the caring of sick and injured.

Sincerely,

George C. Jordan III

Posted by George C. Jordan III on October 18, 2012. Filed under Opinion,View from the Tower. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry