Career Pulse – November 2018
Cancer Connection Welcomes Herbert as Executive Director
NORTHAMPTON — The Rev. Beverly Herbert has joined Cancer Connection as executive director.
“Cancer Connection has not only impacted the lives of people across the Pioneer Valley living with cancer, but it has impacted my life, as a two-time cancer survivor,” Herbert said. “Cancer imposes itself in your life when you least expect it, and you think cancer equals death. Well, Cancer Connection is a place where we honor life.”
Herbert has worked as a municipal director of city planning and community and economic development, and has held interim executive director positions at a community-action agency and a community-development corporation. Most recently, she worked for Pathlight, Billings Forge Community Works in Hartford, Conn., and the city of Wilmington, N.C. She was honored by the Assoc. of Fundraising Professionals of Western Mass. in 2017 as a fundraising professional and as chapter president.
“We are looking forward to Beverly’s leadership in building on our solid reputation and financial stability, implementing our strategic plan, broadening our reach into new communities, and discerning the services and programming we can add to our already impressive list of offerings,” said Becky Jones, board president. “Her enthusiastic passion for Cancer Connection is contagious. We welcome the infusion of her energy and direction.”
Formerly a pastor of the A.M.E. Zion Church, Herbert said she has been touched by love through her faith and shares that love with all she meets. “Through Cancer Connection, I became part of a family — one full of love and life, in spite of the common cancer thread.”
Herbert attended a support group and used other services at the center, she added. “I was able to be myself and discover parts of myself that I hadn’t had the chance to explore. To be accepted and loved for me. It just so happened I had cancer. We try to make everyone feel they’re getting special treatment. This place is about the people, the parents, children, brothers and sisters. The ‘C’ affects everybody, and we’re here to support them, love them, and be part of their team.”
The center is well-known for its integrative therapies offered for stress and pain relief, support groups, and classes. It now offers a metastatic breast-cancer support group funded by Rays of Hope. “There had been no community of support for people living with metastatic breast cancer, but now they have found one another,” Jones said.
Cancer Connection was recently awarded a one-time $50,000 grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the efforts of one grateful participant connected with the foundation. The Cancer Connection Thrift Shop located in Northampton has also been winning awards. “Our local donors, foundations, and the Thrift Shop have helped us grow in the kinds and numbers of services we make available to people,” Jones added.
Herbert will be introduced to the Cancer Connection community at the organization’s annual Harvest Celebration, a dinner and silent auction to be held Friday, Oct. 26 at Quonquont Farm in Whately. For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit cancer-connection.org or call the center at (413) 586-1642. Cancer Connection programs and services are offered free to people facing cancer and their loved ones and caregivers. The center is located at 41 Locust St. in Northampton and serves the Pioneer Valley and beyond.
Ahmad Joins Team at
BMC Cancer Center
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Health Systems announced the appointment of Dr. Nisar Ahmad, a board-certified and fellowship-trained hematologist oncologist, to the Berkshire Medical Center medical staff and the physician staff of Berkshire Hematology Oncology of BMC.
Ahmad is accepting new patients in need of hematology oncology services at both the Berkshire Hematology Oncology of BMC offices in Pittsfield, at the BMC Cancer Center, and at the North Adams campus of BMC. He is partnered with Drs. Michael DeLeo, Trevor Bayliss, Sean Mullally, and Harvey Zimbler at Berkshire Hematology Oncology of BMC.
Ahmad received his medical degree from King Edward Medical College, Pakistan, and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Mt. Sinai/Bronx VA Residency Program. He was fellowship-trained in hematology oncology at the University of Cincinnati.
For an appointment with Ahmad or one of his colleagues, call Berkshire Hematology Oncology of BMC at (413) 443-6000.
Elms College Names Duffy
Associate Dean of Nursing
CHICOPEE — Elms College promoted Brother Michael Duffy, conventual Franciscan friar, to the position of associate dean of the School of Nursing. In this role, he will have primary responsibility for the School of Nursing’s undergraduate programs, service learning programs, and international studies.
Duffy most recently served as coordinator of the accelerated second degree in Nursing program, assistant professor of Nursing, and director of the Elms College caRe vaN, a free health clinic on wheels that serves homeless and underserved people of Chicopee while affording clinical experience to pre-licensure students.
Duffy has extensive experience as an adult nurse practitioner and a nurse educator, teaching at Elms from 1988 through 1997, and again since 2011. He has practiced in healthcare in homeless settings in Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and Baltimore for years. In 2011, he returned from a six-year assignment in Jamaica, where he managed a rural clinic, to serve as the coordinator of the accelerated second degree program in Nursing.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from American International College, his master’s degree from the University of Lowell, and his doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree from Regis College in Weston, where his caRe vaN vision came to fruition as his doctoral project.
Today, the caRe vaN is staffed with pre-licensure students, RN-to-BS students, clinical faculty, and DNP students, and provides free healthcare to the homeless and underserved in Chicopee. The caRe vaN started in a renovated RV and is now housed in a larger, up-to-date unit that is towed from site to site.
Duffy returns to Jamaica each winter with second degree accelerated nursing students who fulfill their population-health and community-nursing experience through a broad range of patient care and clinical experiences, which the students have described as “transformative” to their professional identity and future practice as nurses.
“Since Br. Michael joined the Elms nursing faculty, his strong dedication and commitment to the college, students, the School of Nursing, and the community have been evident in all of his work, earning him the tremendous respect of all,” said Kathleen Scoble, dean of the School of Nursing. “His leadership has been integral to the growth of the School of Nursing through the development of the accelerated second degree program, service learning on the local and international levels, and instruction in the DNP program. We are extremely fortunate to have Brother Michael assume this important position.”
Duffy received the Paul Harris tribute by the Rotary Club of Chicopee in 2013. The Paul Harris tribute is the highest recognition the Rotary gives to an individual who lives by the slogan “service above self.”
“There is little doubt that Brother Michael Duffy will make a significant contribution to the college and the School of Nursing in his new position,” Scoble said. “He is simply a very special person who has in many ways positively impacted all those around him.”
Louis & Clark Medical
Supply Welcomes Vigliotte
SPRINGFIELD — Louis & Clark Medical Supply recently welcomed Kim Vigliotte to its team of specialists. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the durable medical equipment and healthcare industry, and has a solid understanding of coding, insurance verification, prior authorization, and patient registration.
As a board-certified pedorthist, Vigliotte provides pedorthic services to a varied patient population, including pediatric and geriatric patients. She has a history of working with an extensive veteran patient base in need of orthopedic shoes, orthotics, and custom-molded footwear. She also specializes in lymphedema management, wound care, compression garments, mastectomy fittings, and pneumatic pumps.
AdCare Hospital Recognizes
Baumgartner, Cunningham
WORCESTER — Debra Baumgartner, an evening nursing supervisor, is the 2018 recipient of AdCare Hospital’s Excellence in Patient Care Award, while Kristina Cunningham has earned the Excellence in Customer Service Award.
Baumgartner, who joined AdCare as a nurse in 2006, always considers the patient first, said Kara Levinson, director of Nursing. “Deb is highly compassionate toward our patients, and forms the kind of interdisciplinary relationships with staff that are needed to deliver quality patient care.”
Cunningham, an insurance specialist and supervisor in First Contact Services, “has shown tremendous professional growth in her 10 years at AdCare Hospital,” said Diedre Quealey, director. “Krissy is compassionate and professional in her interactions with insurance companies, patients, and staff. She also assists new employees in learning their jobs and interacts with other departments within the hospital to assist with any insurance questions once patients are admitted.”
Elms College Trustees Name
Keating President Emerita
CHICOPEE — The board of trustees of Elms College voted recently to grant the title of president emerita to Sr. Kathleen Keating in recognition of the lasting impact she has had on the college.
Keating, a native of Springfield, was installed as the college’s seventh president in 1994. During her tenure, from 1994 to 2001, Elms College underwent extensive changes. In 1997, the college voted to admit male students to all programs of the college, which helped stabilize a declining enrollment. In addition, the college added four new undergraduate majors and one new master’s degree program. She more than doubled the school’s endowment from $2.3 million to $5.8 million and oversaw various campus-improvement projects, including the building of the Maguire Center. She also oversaw the establishment of the Irish and Polish Cultural Centers on the Elms campus.
“Sr. Kathleen’s contributions to Elms College are not relegated in the past — her wisdom is very much sought after in the present, as I have turned to her counsel on more than one occasion for decisions that require a firm grasp of the college’s history and the guidance of one who has traveled the road before,” said Elms College President Harry Dumay. “We are thankful for Sr. Kathleen’s vision, determination, and the strong example she has set of tireless service.”
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