Provider Profile – Suzanne Childs, BHS Occupational Therapist

12:21PM / Wednesday, May 10, 2023Print Story | Email Story

Across the country, there are nearly 135,000 Occupational Therapists, and Suzanne Childs, who provides this specialized care at the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC, says OT goes beyond helping someone regain their functions for work.

"We promote functional independence for people and help restore not only vocational skills, but also homemaking and daily living skills," said Childs. "Occupational Therapy covers the full range of activities people of all ages do to live functional, meaningful lives."

Suzanne has been with BMC since 1994 and has served as an Occupational Therapist in the Berkshires for nearly 30 years, most of that time in the outpatient setting. She came to the Berkshires after providing OT services in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and later New York state.

"Occupational Therapists often work together with Physical Therapists, but our roles are quite unique. PT focuses on improving the patient's ability to move their body, whereas I concentrate on improving my patient's ability to perform activities of daily living. We help our patients to do things beyond their PT care, such as brushing their teeth, getting dressed, making meals and all of their other everyday tasks that may have been impeded by an illness or injury."

Suzanne is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and completed her clinical education at Toledo Mental Health in Ohio and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. Over the years, she has provided care for spinal cord injury, stroke, post-acute rehabilitation for children and young adults and general rehabilitation.

If you need Occupational Therapy or any kind of rehabilitative care, ask your primary care provider for a referral or call the Center for Rehabilitation at BMC at 413-447-2234.

Tags: BHS, BMC,

Pittsfield Superintendent Details 'Nightmare' Threat Incident

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:36AM / Thursday, March 13, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday's threat incident was Superintendent Joseph Curtis' "absolute worst nightmare."

That morning, a social media threat put Taconic and Pittsfield high schools into "hold-in-passing" procedures. It was lifted a couple of hours later when the Pittsfield Police Department confirmed that the post depicted an Orbeez gel blaster gun and there was no threat to the school community.

"The incident that happened today is a superintendent's and I'm sure everyone else in the room and everyone's absolute worst nightmare," he told the School Committee that night.

"There is no minimizing it. There is no saying we'll deal with that later."

PHS freshman Ronan Conway said while the weapon was identified as an Orbeez, or water bead, gun, that was not known at the time when the threat was made.

"My mother, my siblings, and my father were deeply, deeply disturbed by this news and I'm overwhelmingly upset that they were not informed earlier and that there was not even a delay," he said.

"I completely get not dismissing the school day and I completely support that but maybe a two-hour delay or perhaps even sending out an email to the parents the morning of or the night of to let the parents make that decision for themselves if they want to risk their child's life."

Conway said it was scary and overwhelming going to school and not knowing what was happening, something that his classmates felt, too. He said putting people's lives in danger for attendance is "unacceptable," which Curtis later countered.

"It's scarring, really, to have this hit home," he said.

View Full Story