The new Neighborhood For Health has been opened on the second floor of the North Adams campus of Berkshire Medical Center.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Medical Center on Tuesday unveiled a new community-oriented outpatient medical service designed around patient needs and population health.
"Neighborhood For Health" in North Adams is being touted as an innovative, holistic approach to chronic conditions and preventative care.
"It's a celebration in many respects of community, a celebration of the community of health-care caregivers that will be the life force of this place and it's a celebration of meeting the needs that we know are multiple here in Northern Berkshire County," said Dr. Mark Pettus, director of medical education and medical director of wellness and population health, at a press conference and open house on Tuesday.
"This is about helping people live in a healthier more proactive and personalized way."
Funded through a multi-year grant, the services at the North Adams campus of Berkshire Medical Center will provide coordinated care often not available, limited or inaccessible in the current health care paradigm. Rather, the "patient-centered" model will develop health-care plans based on the individual that can be delivered directly at the clinic.
The "neighborhood" idea brings together a host of social, medical and behavioral services to serve those in Northern Berkshire especially suffering from chronic disease, mental health and substance issues. Services include access to a nutrition counseling, tobacco-cessation, diabetes education, outpatient detoxification, and more.
"This initiative enables us to pull all of the critical pieces together for patients, so that they can return to the best health possible," David E. Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems, said in a statement. "It ensures that all of their care is easily accessible in one location, completely coordinated and carried out by a team that is all working together in partnership with the patient."
Located in the old Second North wing of the former North Adams Regional Hospital, the goal is to create a connection between staff and patients, the service and other medical providers, and with other community organizations.
The first phase will focus on Northern Berkshire patients discharged from Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. Within 48 hours, they will be connected with followup care within their community.
"Every individual serviced will have followup care coordinated and navigated within the Neighborhood For Health," said Pettus.
The second phase will begin integrating referrals from North County primary-care providers.
Elizabeth Piantoni, one of a growing number of community care coordinators, will be the point person on developing collaborations and aiding patients in navigating their wellness needs.
"My role is to help bridge the gap between the community and health care system so that every individual and family can achieve the highest quality of care regardless of their cultural background or their socioeconomic status," she said.
The North Adams native said she understood the barriers and challenges faced in North County in accessing health care.
"It's all about building relationships with patients and resources, and help them set goals and navigate barriers to services," she said, as well as keeping the health care system abreast of what those needs were.
The clinic is being funded through a $3 million Community Hospital Acceleration, Revitalization, & Transformation (CHART) grant through the state's Health Policy Commission. The grants fund innovative ways to advance and enhance health care delivery, from technological areas to integration of behavioral sciences.
This project really represents that true implementation of mental health and medical care. — Dr. Alex Sabo
Dr. Alex Sabo, chairman of BMC's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, said health care is recognizing more and more the relationship of behaviors and mental health in decisions regarding physical health.
"Mental health and physical health are inextricably interconnected," he said, and has been recognized by the surgeon general. "This project really represents that true implementation of mental health and medical care."
He envisions patients becoming "co-investigators" in what works for them, and said creating care plans that feel collaborative are what "really are going to make this thing work."
Among the organizations working closely with the clinic is the Brien Center, which has already established a morning group for those working through substance abuse recovery.
"When you talk about chronic disease like diabetes, no one really expects an individual to go into a hospital for 30 days and come out cured," said the Brien's chief executive M. Christine Macbeth. "We're working with folks who want to keep their families intact ... they want to stay in their jobs or re-enter the work force and avoid hospitalization or re-hospitalization."
Mayor Richard Alcombright thought it a "great model" that reaches beyond the campus to connect with where and how residents live.
"It's just another very positive and large step forward with respect to health care revitalization in North Adams and the Berkshires," he said. "It also brings back mental health and addiction services to the facility and all the wraparound services that go with mental health."
The development of the services was driven by the data collected in the Stroudwater report, a health care services survey commissioned by the state Department of Health and Human Services after the abrupt closure of North Adams Regional Hospital. The facility was purchased by Berkshire Health Systems last year and outpatient services have slowly been expanded, the latest being opening of the neighborhood clinic.
The focus is on the medical needs identified in North County, especially congestive heart failure, but also smoking, diabetes, substance abuse, and lifestyle issues. Those identified as most in need of the services often have complex health issues requiring hospitalizations or frequent use of the emergency room.
Adam Hinds, new director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, said it was about aligning medical needs with the community services and community needs.
"I think making that point that utilizing community for creating stability and security in the lives of individuals needs to be underscored," he said. "We're all in this together."
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The new Neighborhood For Health has been opened on the second floor of the North Adams campus of Berkshire Medical Center. 
