Northern Berkshire Family Practice Joining NBH

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire Family Practice will become part of the Northern Berkshire Healthcare family of care providers, NBH officials announced Wednesday.

Dr. William Kober will remain at the practice as medical director and is joined by Dr. Linda Hill, who most recently has practiced with Williamstown Medical Associates. Also joining the practice is Elizabeth Toomajian of North Adams, a family nurse practitioner. The medical practice is accepting new patients for primary care. The number is 413-664-4088.

NBH will purchase the building at 820 State Road.

"We're excited to welcome Drs. Kober and Hill, and Liz Toomajian to the NBH family, as we work to maintain and expand primary care services in the community," said Richard Palmisano, president and CEO of Northern Berkshire Healthcare. "It's no secret that there are immense pressures on primary care doctors across the state and especially here in Berkshire County, and it's important to do all we can to strengthen the provision of those services here."

Palmisano added that NBH continues to devote resources to physician recruitment, including recruitment in the areas of primary care, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and other specialties.


Kober, a board-certified family practice physician, has practiced in North Berkshire since 1994, when Northern Berkshire Family Practice was established. He earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and served his internship and residency at University of Connecticut Affiliated Hospitals at St. Francis' Medical Center in Hartford.

Hill earned her medical degree from the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, and served a rotating internship at Brighton Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She also is a board-certified family practice physician. She came to North Berkshire from the Veterans Administration Primary Care Clinic in Glens Falls, N.Y., and has practiced in communities in Maine, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Toomajian completed her family nurse practitioner certificate program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also holds a master of science in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin. Toomajian most recently has worked for the Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield, and for Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's department of employee and occupational health. She has also worked in North Adams Regional Hospital's psychiatric unit and, from 1995 to 1998, for Northern Berkshire Family Medicine.

Northern Berkshire Healthcare's family of care providers includes NARH, the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Northern Berkshire, Reach Community Health Foundation and Sweet Brook Transitional Care and Living Centers and Sweetwood Continuing Care Retirement Community in Williamstown. Information: 413-664-5000 or www.nbhealth.org.
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District Moving On From Allegations Against PHS Administrator

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The district is "moving on" from unsubstantiated allegations against two Pittsfield High School administrators, saying there is no threat.

Dean of Students Molly West returned to work last week after being put on leave in December. The Department of Children and Families has cleared West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard of misconduct claims that surfaced after another PHS dean was arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office for allegedly conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine.

School Committee Chair William Cameron on Wednesday emphasized that when such an investigation finds no evidence of wrongdoing, fundamental fairness and due process prohibits taking punitive action simply because of allegations. Reportedly, West was also investigated and cleared in the past.

"The circumstances of Mrs. West being placed on administrative leave don't need to be recited here," he said.

"Social media allegations made against her in December, which then regrettably were widely publicized, were not new. They had been heard, investigated, and found meritless by other school districts many years ago, nevertheless, they were disinterred recently by someone providing neither evidence nor a credible source and then reinvestigated twice in the last three months."

Senior Emma Goetze said she was "appalled, deeply disappointed, and frustrated that an administrator who has been placed on leave, someone who has caused significant discomfort and distress to so many students, has been allowed to return to our building."

"I understand that there is an investigation and acknowledge that this individual was cleared but it feels incredibly unjust to me and to many of my peers that despite everything, this person is being given the opportunity to come back," she said. "It's important to recognize that even though an investigation may have found no wrongdoing, that doesn't change the reality of how this individual's presence makes many students feel."

Investigations led by DCF and retired Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup concluded that there is no evidence to substantiate the accusations.

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