News Briefs: Fairview disaster exercise; GBPD mental health first aid course; Mass Pike lane closures

Fairview Hospital to hold disaster exercise

Great Barrington — Fairview Hospital will participate in a National Disaster Medical System exercise Saturday, Sept. 15.

NDMS is a federally coordinated health care system and partnership of the United States departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The exercise will simulate a large number of patients being evacuated from hospitals impacted by a disaster area elsewhere in the country. The hospital will receive patients from a federal coordinating center at Westover Air Force Base. The patients will arrive midday Saturday at the Great Barrington Airport via Black Hawk helicopter and will then be transported to Fairview by the Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad.

For more information, contact Heather Barbieri, Fairview’s director of emergency management, at (413) 854-9656.

*     *     *

GB police hold mental health first aid course for law enforcement colleagues

Great Barrington — Chief William Walsh has announced that more than 20 participants from several agencies attended the Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety course hosted by the Great Barrington Police Department September 6 at the Berkshire South Regional Community Center.

Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety provides officers with more response options to help them de-escalate incidents and better understand mental illnesses so they can respond to mental health-related calls appropriately without compromising anyone’s safety. The session focused on a five-step action plan that first responders can rely upon to provide immediate support should they encounter someone suffering an acute mental health crisis.

The course was attended by 22 law enforcement officers from the Great Barrington, Lanesborough, Lenox, Tyringham, Lee and Sheffield police departments, as well as representatives from the Ludlow Board of Health, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration.

GBPD hosted the course as part of its ongoing commitment to the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s One Mind campaign, which positions law enforcement agencies to make tangible and lasting efforts to address mental health issues in their communities.

*     *     *

MassDOT schedules Mass Pike lane closures in West Stockbridge, Lee, Becket, Russell

Western Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has announced daytime intermittent lane closures in West Stockbridge, Lee, Becket and Russell on Interstate 90 east- and westbound beginning Monday, Sept. 17, and continuing through Friday, Sept. 21. The closures will allow crews to carry out construction and maintenance operations.

Details of the scheduled work, locations and traffic impacts are as follows:

I-90 eastbound

• West Stockbridge: Deck repairs on I-90 over Williams River Road at milemarker 2.5 eastbound. There will be intermittent lane closures Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Lee: Bridge repairs on I-90 at MM 12.5 eastbound. There will be alternating lane closures Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

I-90 westbound

• Becket: Deck repairs on I-90 over Route 20 at MM 17.4 westbound. Crews will be working on center phase. Intermittent lane closures are scheduled Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Russell: Shoulder repairs on I-90 at MM 34 to 36. There will be a shoulder closure Monday through Friday from 7: a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

I-90 eastbound and westbound – bridge painting operations

• Lee: Bridge painting on the Marble Street overpass at MM 6 eastbound and westbound. There will be intermittent lane closures Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• West Stockbridge: Bridge painting on the Route 102 overpass at MM 2.0 eastbound and westbound. There will be intermittent lane closures Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Becket: Bridge painting on Route 20 at the I-90 overpass. No impacts are anticipated for I-90 at this time.

Appropriate signage and messaging will be in place to guide drivers during these operations. The schedule for the work is weather-dependent and subject to change without notice. MassDOT encourages drivers to reduce speed and use caution while traveling throughout this area. For more information on traffic conditions travelers are encouraged to:

• Dial 511 before heading out onto the roadways and select a route to hear real-time conditions;
• Visit https://mass511.com for real-time traffic and incident advisory information, access to traffic cameras, and allows users to subscribe to text and email alerts for traffic conditions;
• Follow MassDOT on Twitter to receive regular updates on road and traffic conditions; and
• Download MassDOT’s GoTime mobile app and view real-time traffic conditions before setting out on the road.