Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association opens office in Sheffield
Sheffield — SVNA Home Assistance, the private duty arm of Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association, opened a Berkshire County location Dec. 1. SVNA Home Assistance has provided nonmedical homecare to residents of northwestern Connecticut since 2012.
After receiving numerous requests for services just over the state line, SVNA Home Assistance director Meghan Plouffe approached the board to open the Sheffield office, which will serve the towns of Sheffield, New Marlborough, Egremont, Great Barrington and Stockbridge.
Said Plouffe: “When making this decision, I couldn’t help but think of the importance of hiring a manager to work alongside me in opening and managing the office, someone who understands the area needs, population and home care in general. I am excited to welcome back Brenda Fife. Brenda is not new to SVNA as she was instrumental in the opening of SVNA Home Assistance in 2012. I was thrilled to be hired by Brenda in 2016 and am thrilled to hire Brenda back to the team.”
SVNA Home Assistance will hold an open house Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, from 5 to 7 p.m. at its 515 Sheffield Plain location and welcomes business owners, prospective clients, prospective employees and all who would like to learn more about its offerings.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Community College’s nursing program restored to full approval
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College has announced that its associate degree in nursing program is in full compliance with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing requirements and is restored to full approval. This news was announced at the Board of Registration in Nursing’s Dec. 11 board meeting following a site survey completed by board designees in October 2019. In that survey, board personnel reviewed documentation; met with students, faculty and staff; toured the facilities; and examined both current data and plans for future data collection.
BCC received official word in April 2019 that the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing had restored continuing accreditation to the ADN program through 2023. In its notification to the college, ACEN acknowledged that deliberations on the change in status centered on the materials that were submitted to the board following the visit by the peer accreditation team.
Also in mid-April, BCC announced that it would voluntarily and temporarily suspend admission to the first year of its ADN program for fall 2019. It did so in order for the program to fully focus on the recommendations of the commission. Now that accreditation has been restored, the college will accept 56 students into the fall 2020 ADN program.
–E.E.
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Barrington Stage Company welcomes Jonathan Hed as marketing director
Pittsfield — Barrington Stage Company has appointed Jonathan Hed as director of marketing and communications.
Hed has over 15 years of experience in marketing and communications, most notably in arts and entertainment marketing. Formerly the marketing director for Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, he most recently led marketing efforts for the Berkshire Eagle and its sister publications. A longtime Berkshire resident, Hed was introduced to the region through his college experience at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, where he studied classical music theory and composition. He lives in Pittsfield with his wife and two children.
–E.E.
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Berkshire United Way receives grant from Avangrid
Pittsfield — Berkshire United Way has received a $10,000 Avangrid Foundation grant, in partnership with Berkshire Gas Company, to support early childhood development initiatives throughout Berkshire County.
“We support early childhood development strategies such as home visiting and licensed preschool programs provided by our community partners, as well as coalition activities to address systems-change work. Our home visiting and early education programs reported that 97% of their children are maintaining or progressing with language development,” said Berkshire United Way CEO Candace Winkler.
Based on solid research, the focus of Berkshire United Way’s early childhood initiative work helps to bolster services available to families, which positively influence the overall well-being of the family unit in general and ultimately increase third-grade reading proficiency.
–E.E.
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BFAIR promotes Erin Shea to vice president of quality compliance
North Adams — Erin Shea has been promoted to vice president of quality compliance at BFAIR. Her additional responsibilities are to be an active member of the senior management team, provide leadership to the development and implementation of the agency’s strategic plan, support BFAIR’s family advisory and self-advocacy committees, and oversight of diversity and risk management initiatives.
Shea holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Elms College and is a licensed social worker with over 15 years of progressive experience supporting elders and individuals with disabilities and their families. She began her career at United Cerebral Palsy of Western Massachusetts and as a social worker with Berkshire Healthcare Systems. Over the past 10 years, Shea has assumed a variety of roles at BFAIR, including as assistant director of the day habilitation center.
–E.E.