Registered nurse Ruth O'Hearn was working at North Adams Regional Hospital when it abruptly closed its doors as its ownership declared bankruptcy in 2014. She said it was shocking to find out that the healthcare facility in Berkshire County’s second largest community of around 13,000 would shut down.
“I’m union rep, and we had had meetings with the hospital and they were in negotiations with Berkshire Medical Center to merge the two hospitals, for BMC to take over North Adams hospital, and the state was helping to facilitate that process," she told WAMC. "And then the announcement was made- We’re closing.”
The move sent shockwaves through North Adams and the constellation of small towns in Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont that the hospital served and employed. Hundreds lost their jobs.
“The hospital was the community resource for everyone to get medical care in and it was an integral part of North Adams and it was the employer who allowed folks to have good paying jobs and go to work every day and have pride in your job," said O'Hearn. "And it was a community resource that was terribly missed when it closed.”
Berkshire Health Systems, the region’s largest healthcare provider, stepped in to buy the campus and restore limited medical services from the facility after the full hospital closure. O’Hearn, who began working in North Adams in 1999, works in the emergency room there today. With the nearest option for patients over 20 miles away at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, critical services can seem inaccessible to those who need them most.
“We get them in the emergency room here, but then we tell them we don't have any beds and they have to go to Pittsfield," O'Hearn told WAMC. "People don't have ways home. People can't visit them. We have an elderly population, I would say a very low-income group of folks and limited resources.”
All of that is changing with BHS’s announcement that North Adams will again have a proper hospital, albeit limited to 25 beds — far fewer than the almost 300 at BMC.
“We are able to bring back inpatient services to North Adams via a vehicle called Critical Access Hospital designation, which will allow us to provide inpatient observation services to the community and keep care closer to home," said BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz. “It also means that North Adams will no longer be a satellite of Berkshire Medical Center, but will be its own organization. And we're bringing back the same name. We're honoring the work that has been done in North Adams over the years in bringing back North Adams Regional Hospital.”
Before the hospital originally closed, it was ineligible for a Critical Access Hospital designation under federal rules. The facility was under 35 miles from the nearest full-service hospital by a federal highway – in this case, BMC and the two-lane Route 7 – and didn’t pass muster. In November 2022, a crucial change to the guidelines shifted the definition of federal highway to four lanes for the 35-mile range. With North Adams out of range from BMC under the updated rules, the facility can now be designated a Critical Access Hospital.
“Our plan is to be able to open up the inpatient beds and provide care to folks that have chronic conditions that have been exacerbated and need to be treated, things like simple pneumonia, UTIs, some post-surgical observation care as well," Rodowicz told WAMC. "So, it really allows individuals that now come to Berkshire Medical Center to instead be able to receive that care closer to home.”
City leaders are hailing the announcement.
“I think it's a great opportunity to add more jobs to the North Adams community and also bring back some of our residents who possibly went to other hospitals to work to get them right back here on the North Adams campus," Mayor Jennifer Macksey told WAMC. “I think many people put off some of their health care procedures and often going to the ER in fear that they're going to have to go to Pittsfield. So, I think it's great that the community can get quality care right in their hometown.”
O’Hearn, a Massachusetts Nurses Association member, says it’s also a win for healthcare professionals.
“North Adams has a very long history of providing excellent care for the community," she told WAMC. "It was and continues to be a well trusted resource for the community, and I think that this opportunity for the staff to work in their own community and bring back to the population of the community, here we are, come to us, we're here for you. You don't have to leave your community for care. I think that that's very important.”
