BHS Hospitals Earn Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditations

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Berkshire Health Systems has announced that all three of its hospitals have been awarded Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Fairview Hospital recently was awarded renewed accreditation and has been accredited since 2022. North Adams Regional Hospital, which reopened in 2024 as a Critical Access Hospital, received accreditation in late 2025. Berkshire Medical Center has been accredited since 2023. All three hospitals were awarded Bronze Level Accreditation for three years.

"Our Emergency Departments are often the front lines of care for our senior population, and this accreditation exemplifies our commitment to the highest level of care," said Darlene Rodowicz, Berkshire Health Systems President and CEO. "The Berkshires has a significantly higher than average number of senior patients compared to much of the rest of the Commonwealth, and I applaud the providers in our Emergency Departments for their team-based approach to care that has led to these accreditations."

The GEDA program is the culmination of years of progress in emergency care of older adults. In 2014, ACEP along with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Emergency Nurses Association, and American Geriatrics Society, developed and released geriatric ED guidelines, recommending measures ranging from adding geriatric-friendly equipment to specialized staff to more routine screening for delirium, dementia, and fall risk, among other vulnerabilities.

The voluntary GEDA program, which includes three levels similar to trauma center designations, provides specific criteria and goals for emergency clinicians and administrators to target. The accreditation process provides more than two dozen best practices for geriatric care and the level of GEDA accreditation achieved depends upon how many of these best practices an emergency department is able to meet. A Level 3 emergency department must incorporate many of these best practices, along with providing interdisciplinary geriatric education, and have geriatric appropriate equipment and supplies available.

Allendale Pines North Affordable Manufactured Homes Sell Fast

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:17PM / Saturday, August 22, 2026

Developer Teton Management cut the ribbon on the first six hopes in the manufactured housing community earlier this year. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Just a few months after Allendale Pines North cut the ribbon on its first six homes in the new manufactured home community, units in the planned development are selling fast with both first and second phases all but sold out.

 

For several years, Teton Management Corp. has been planning to expand its existing Allendale Pines Mobile Community with the development of 22 planned manufactured housing units. The new development has its own entrance at 395 Cheshire Road. 

 

The need for attainable housing has never been higher, Teton President George Whaling said. 

 

"And where we sought the opportunity to help with that demand is, we can get folks into a home at Allendale Pines North for essentially a couple of $100 less than what it would cost for someone to rent a three-bedroom of the same quality," he said. 

 

The corporation took over Allendale Pines, now referred to as Allendale Pines South, about 6 1/2 years ago, Whaling said. 

 

Since then, the corporation has invested $1,000,001 in infrastructure improvements, including replacing all water and sewer lines, paving the community and installing the infrastructure needed for 10 additional units, he said. 

 

Additionally, it has been working to clean up and improve the community, which was lacking during previous ownership, said Jason Nocher, owner of Nocher Realty, which has been hired to help sell the units.