A coalition of Berkshire County's first responders and emergency personnel are working to quantify widening gaps in ambulance services that they say are hurting health outcomes. The Berkshire Eagle reports that Emergency Medical Services of Berkshire County recently launched a countywide mobilization plan in an effort to respond to the problem, which more specifically rounds out to unanswered medical calls and subsequent delays in treatment. North Adams Ambulance Service General Manager John Meaney was very frank in addressing the other committee members saying that town leaders might be reluctant to address the problem, given limited budgets, but "when someone dies because an ambulance doesn't show up, they're going to be knocking on the door."

 

Williamstown And Williams College Funding Ambulance Service Merger

The Williamstown Finance Committee has committed to spending up to $75,000 to help defray the cost of Village Ambulance Service’s merger with North Adams Ambulance Service. IBerkshires.com reports that the actual cost of that move may end up being more than $200,000, and the town and Williams College are committed to sharing the cost of the merger, which a yearlong town-gown study found to be the best option available for maintaining ambulance service in the town. Last year, the non-profit went public with financial woes that were threatening the viability of the service. In January, a task force began looking at long-term solutions. That eventually led to the merger with the North Adams service, which was announced in September.

 

Berkshire Museum Litigation Will Remain In Boston For Now

The legal fight over the Berkshire Museum's move to sell art will remain in Boston for now, spoiling the hopes of the museum's attorneys to find a speedier lower-court path to auctions in 2018. The Berkshire Eagle reports that the action this week will make it more difficult for the museum to clear the barriers to its planned sales. It also comes only days after the Attorney General's Office won seven more weeks to probe the issue, setting up another face-off in late January. In an order entered on Monday, the Massachusetts Appeals Court turned down the museum's bid to allow litigation over the deaccession of 40 works of art to continue in Berkshire Superior Court, where it won the first round of the dispute at the beginning of November.

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