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Markey Monitoring Berkshire County COVID-19 Response

Sen. Ed Markey
Josh Landes
/
WAMC
Senator Ed Markey

Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ed Markey says he’s keeping an eye on conditions at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

On WAMC’s Congressional Corner Tuesday, the Democrat said he had received a call from BMC saying dozens of nurses had been exposed to coronavirus, requiring the hospital to spend “a couple million dollars” to hire new nurses to close the gap.

“I’m also told by the Berkshire hospital that they did not have sufficient testing equipment, that they did not have sufficient protective gear for their nurses and their doctors,” said the senator.

A registered nurse at BMC told WAMC Monday that some employees were unhappy with a hospital policy that calls for reusing medical equipment to preserve supplies during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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