NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Turns out North Adams Regional Hospital has been on life support the last nine years. 

 

The hospital closed in 2014 but Berkshire Health Systems is hoping to resuscitate the dormant medical center and reopen up to 25 inpatient beds.

 

And return the name of "North Adams Regional Hospital." 

 

Darlene Rodowicz, BHS president and CEO, said Wednesday that the health system has been working with Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh and Gov. Maura Healy's office on what is needed "to bring the North Adams campus fully back to life with inpatient services."

 

"The reason back in 2014 and on that we were so interested in bringing services back to North Adams is because we do believe that care should be as local as possible," she said. "We also believe in systems of care. So what we can handle locally, we should handle locally."

 

BHS officials anticipate having inpatient services by winter, pending licensing and regulatory approval, and restoration of surgical services. There are plans for community forums later in July or early August to keep area residents informed of the process. 

 

"This is very exciting news for all of us in North Adams and our surrounding communities. It really provides us an opportunity to have consistent, high-quality convenient care in North Adams," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey. "BHS continues to invest in the community, which we want. But we really need to have inpatient care here in North Adams.  ... this really provides an opportunity to be taken care of right in your own community."

 

The closure of the 129-year-old hospital in March 2014 was a shock to the North County system. More than 500 jobs were affected and thousands of people in Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont had to look further north or south for medical care. 

 

Berkshire Medical Center stepped in two months later to provide continuity of care, including 24-hour emergency service. BHS purchased the assets of the bankrupt Northern Berkshire Healthcare that September with the goal of bringing medical services back to the campus, which has included the emergency satellite facility, doctors' offices, imaging, lab facilities, wellness counseling and dialysis treatment. 

 

Reopening the hospital has been out of reach until changes last November to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regulations for rural "critical access hospitals." The former officials at North Adams Regional had tried for that designation back in 2011 as a way to stabilize its finances through higher Medicare reimbursements. But a CAH couldn't be within a 35-mile radius of another hospital and its application was rejected. 

 

Rodowicz said the 35-mile rule hasn't changed ... but, the federal government's definition of a connecting highway has. Route 7 is now considered a "secondary" road because it is a two-lane rather than four-lane and that drops the required distance between hospitals to 15 miles. 

 

The new North Adams Regional will essentially be a mirror of the 24-bed Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, which has the Critical Access Hospital designation. 

 

"We really believe in systems of care. And if you really want to manage some of the chronic conditions that often lead to hospitalization, you need to make sure that it's accessible for everyone, not just for the folks that can afford to drive to Boston and have a great family support system but for those that may live alone or do not have the support system," Rodowicz said. "Care should be as local as possible. And this is an opportunity to do that."

 

BHS has invested millions in the former hospital campus (which had undergone renovation some years before it closed) but a section of Second North, one of the "new wings" built in 1970, was essentially mothballed for future use.

 

"We've been preserving an inpatient unit since the closure of North Adams in 2014," said Rodowicz. "We're bringing that back up to code, making sure all the gases work in the headwall so that we can accommodate inpatients. I think there's an elevator upgrade that we're doing. And other than that, we really don't need to do a whole lot more to be able to bring in services back to the campus."

 

The medical/surgical rooms will all be private and encompass the former intensive care units. The restoration of inpatient beds also means the "satellite" emergency services will become a full emergency department since it will be able to admit patients. 

 

"I really believe that a lot of our residents put off some of their care, because they dread going down to Pittsfield for procedures and especially people who have to stay in the hospital," said Macksey. "It's just great news. It's great news for the elderly, the young, for all of us, and I am very excited about this and I look forward to working with BHS as they expand more services."

 

The mayor said she's been pushing for inpatient care in her talks with BHS, as had her predecessors. 

 

"I think this is a really big win for the residents and in North Adams and the surrounding communities to have access to inpatient care right here," she said, adding she was looking forward to the parking lot being filled up and more jobs created. 

 

Bart Raser, chair of the BHS Board of Trustees, said, "this investment in re-establishing inpatient beds in North County represents a new chapter, not only for North Adams but for our system's ongoing efforts to improve the health and overall quality of life of the many communities we serve across Berkshire County."

 

Rodowicz said the reopening will be phased in and she imagined there are employees in Pittsfield who will want to return to North Adams.

 

A state-commissioned report by Stroudwater Associates following the hospital's closure concluded that a CAH with 19-21 beds would be sustainable in North County. Rodowicz said sustainability would be critical in determining further services, such as maternity. 

 

"We continue to look at what the needs are in the community. And the priority. So right now we're able to look at the med-surg needs and meet that need," she said. "Once we get that up and running, we'll continue to look at everything but we always look through the prism of need and sustainability while we're considering other services."