FEMA Awards Nearly $1.4 M to BMC for COVID-19 Testing Costs

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BOSTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will send almost $1.4 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) for the cost of of testing the public and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The $1,390,865 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the private 302-bed teaching hospital in Pittsfield affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School for the cost of contracting to administer 22,968 COVID-19 tests between September 2020 and January 2021.
 
The hospital also purchased supplies such as lab coats, masks, gloves, and propane for the testing tent, and contracted to provide security and cleaning services.
 
"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Berkshire Medical Center with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation."
 

Tags: BHS,   BMC,   COVID-19,   


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Pittsfield Council Wants Promised Transparency Around PHS Investigation

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council doesn't want promises of transparency around the Pittsfield High School investigation to be backtracked.

On Tuesday, it urged the School Committee to release a public summary of the findings from the independent investigation into staff misconduct at PHS. Councilors reported that they have been left in the dark along with the general public, so much so that Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren submitted a public records request.

"I want to be clear that we on the council haven't received a secret briefing on what happened. We are being left in the dark, too. It's not acceptable," Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said.

"We're all concerned, and we can do it differently."

Earlier this month, school officials requested a recap of the process and, if possible, the findings of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas' investigation triggered by allegations against two administrators who have since been cleared by an outside investigation.

The district's legal counsel has reportedly advised against releasing the report even though officials pledged transparency when the scandal arose.

Councilor at Large Earl Persip III, who submitted the petition, admitted that he is 50/50 "at best" about his child attending Pittsfield schools next year.

"I thought I would never say that out loud," he said. "I have to say that now because my children come first, and I don't think that the school department is thinking about how parents feel."

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