The March closure of North Adams Regional Hospital left the region without emergency care and put some 500 people out of work. It also jeopardized an educational nursing program that used hospital space as a classroom.McCann Technical School sends about 20 people through its Licensed Practical Nursing program each year. When North Adams Regional closed during the midst of the January to December program, they had to move their classroom and training equipment into the North Adams school. Through an agreement with Berkshire Health Systems, which bought the hospital campus earlier this month, the program will move back into its old home.
“Without returning to the site, quite frankly we could not have had this program,” said McCann superintendent Jim Brosnan. “We would have had to close and that would have been a shame because we think we’ve got the greatest and finest practical nursing program in the commonwealth.”
BHS operates an emergency center at the North Adams site and expects to release plans for further services in the next two months.
