BHS Honors 10 Employees with CARE Awards, Providers of the Year Recognition

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As part of Employee Appreciation Month in May, Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) recognized eight employees with annual CARE Awards and two Providers of the Year honors.

CARE Awards celebrate the health system’s core values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence, and employees who were honored work across the system at Berkshire Medical Center, Fairview Hospital, North Adams Regional Hospital, and BMC and Fairview Provider Practices.

Providers of the Year Honors
Providers of the Year were Robert Wenger, MD, an Emergency Medicine specialist at North Adams Regional Hospital, and Julie Brown, NP, a Nurse Practitioner at Berkshire Health Pediatrics.

Dr. Wenger was recognized for his compassionate care in the North Adams Regional Hospital Emergency Department and his collaborative work with other providers and departments at the hospital.

A co-worker said: "Dr. Wenger is a very compassionate provider and listens to the families and their concerns. I have worked as a colleague and seen him as a customer when he treated my mom. He is very professional and provides thoughtful care and has a commitment to quality, safety, and best practice standards."

Brown was cited for her ability to navigate the challenges of helping young children of all ages in the pediatric practice. A colleague said: "Julie is very compassionate and respectful to all of her patients and co-workers. I take messages from her devoted patients and even when her schedule is full, she will find time to squeeze them in. My granddaughter sees her, so I have been in the exam room. She teaches the patient how to advocate for themselves while also guiding them with her knowledge."

CARE Award Winners
Cara Aherne is a Berkshire Health Systems Human Resources Shared Services Representative. She was lauded by her colleagues, who said: "Cara is the person you want by your side in a challenging moment. She approaches every situation, whether supporting an employee, guiding a colleague, or navigating a complex issue with empathy, patience, and understanding. She treats others like family, offering both practical help and emotional support. Her willingness to go the extra mile makes a meaningful difference for those who rely on her."

Jennifer Dowling, RN, is Nursing Director in the North Adams Regional Hospital Emergency Department. She was praised for her over four-decade career at the hospital as "a tireless advocate for our patients and their families, many of whom she knows personally or through long-standing community relationships. She approaches each situation with empathy and a genuine desire to help people navigate difficult moments. She brings that same compassion to her colleagues and community partners, taking the time to listen, support, and guide others. Her leadership has helped foster a culture where staff feel valued and patients feel cared for."

Amy Gates, Practice Manager for the BHS Neurology practice, was credited with revitalizing the office that provides Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine. A colleague wrote: "the department needed a great deal of time, energy, and focus; it was considered a total rebuild. Amy took on this challenge with determination and dedication. However, with a focus on accountability, Amy rolled up her sleeves and got to work. Several of Amy’s previous staff members came forward and applied for the open positions because as one of them expressed to me, ‘we want to go where she goes!’"

Khadiza Gilani, a Dietary Aide working in the Berkshire Medical Center Café, "embodies compassion by treating every patient, visitor, and colleague with genuine kindness and patience. She understands that many people she encounters may be experiencing stress or uncertainty, and she makes every effort to ensure they feel welcomed, supported, and cared for—just as she would treat a member of her own family."

Andrew LaDouceur, RN, is the Clinical Team Leader in the BMC Intensive Care Unit. His co-workers had high praise for his care for among the most vulnerable patients in the hospital. "When leaving a shift Andy almost always stops at the waiting room to comfort patient's family members by offering reassurance, shaking hands, or sometimes a hug to those who need it. Andy understands that caring for patients also means caring for the people who love them, and these small acts reflect his genuine compassion and respect."

Charlene Thouin works as an Environmental Services Specialist at BMC, and is a young adult with a young family, not only working full-time but also pursuing her education for a future career in medical coding. "She comes in every morning with a warm smile, a positive attitude, and a genuine commitment to supporting everyone in her building. Her consistency, kindness, and uplifting presence set the tone for the entire building, and I know many others who work here would wholeheartedly agree with these sentiments."

Brian Wegner is an Environmental Services Specialist at Fairview Hospital and a US Navy veteran. The staff at Fairview have lauded his work ethic, with one saying, "Brian exemplifies dedication, flexibility, and a consistent commitment to doing his very best each day. He is someone we can always rely on—no matter the circumstances. Brian routinely goes above and beyond his core responsibilities. He not only excels in Environmental Services, but he also steps in to support Maintenance whenever needed. His willingness to shift between departments demonstrates his adaptability and strong team?first mindset."

Cecelia Williams serves as a Patient/Family Liaison in the Berkshire Medical Center Emergency Department. Her co-workers agree that she is highly effective in her role. "I have seen Cecelia working each day for 8 hours at a time in the emergency department waiting room, serving as the compassionate face and listening ear of our health system—quite literally on the frontline between hospital and community. She works to soften that transition for patients with a smile, kind words, information and encouragement—sometimes through handholding, grieving, empathizing, and commiserating. She will sit with the bereaved; she will extend a compassionate hand to those struggling with mental health, substance use, painful medical issues, or worry about themselves or a family member."

To learn more, visit www.berkshirehealthsystems.org/awards.

Prospect Meadow Farm Opens New Vocational Barn

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:40AM / Thursday, June 18, 2026

A charcuterie board at the event displays fare from some of the regional producers.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prospect Meadow Farm last week officially opened a new barn to sell plants and other goods it produces.

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011. 

The Berkshires farm opened on Crane Avenue two years ago and has now introduced a new vocational and unwinding space for the more than 25 farmhands who get paid a minimum wage.

"This is a facility for our folks who work on the farm to learn additional skills and do additional work," said Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson at the Friday event. "So we have a food packaging space, we've got a walk-in cooler space, we've got a floral design space, we've got a farm store room for staff, lunch room, and then a meditation room that we're standing in now, which is when you're having those hard moments and you need to get away from everything.

"This is going to be a peaceful place you can find and sort of find some comfort, and then hopefully get back to work."

The barn was built by funds from the state Executive Office of Economic Development and the state Department of Agricultural Resources that equated to around $600,000, with ServiceNet contributing around the same amount. The structure took over a year to build.

The state's Department of Developmental Services Commissioner Sarah Peterson spoke on how meaningful this farm and ServiceNet is to her and that this place is important to those who need it.

"Places like this are so crucial because they create opportunities for people living with disabilities that aren't plentiful," she said. "People living with developmental and intellectual disabilities have an unemployment rate over 25 percent five times the rate for people without disabilities, even more jarring is under appointment, which is at 80 percent. That means that four out of every five people with disabilities earn below market rate wages and have limited upward mobility.

"The building itself is really impressive, but what you're really seeing here is the result of vision. It's about opportunity, it's about community, and it's founded in the belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and work and contribute to thrive under the leadership of ServiceNet."

One aspect of the barn will be the market where produce from the farm and other local growers will be sold as well as keeping the tradition of Jodi's Seasonal, which previously occupied the location, alive with plant sales. The market will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Everything you see in terms of the tomatoes, the fresh produce, that's all done with the hands of our farm hands here, individuals with disabilities who get out every single morning, get in those greenhouses, put their hands in the dirt, and make all of this happen, and this is just the start," said Robinson. "This farm is a little over a year old at this point, but give it another two years, and we hope to be growing enough food to share throughout the Berkshires."

Robinson said the farm is focused on local food security, recently partnering with the Hatfield Council on Aging and planning to work toward making enough food to partner with places in the Berkshires.

He said the barn serves the Hatfield farm and what the employees here needed.

"We've been able to learn the needs of the farm hands who work there and so we have learned that they need a comfortable break space for those times where it's hard to be out in the fields, we've learned that a quiet space for when you're going through something you need to be away from people are key, and then also we have a small farm store in Hatfield, but we've seen increasing interest in retail work from our participants, so we thought it was time for a larger-scale farm store," he said.

Robinson noted that Prospect Meadow Farm has helped the individuals working there feel valued and head.