The Berkshire County Boards of Health Association (BCBOHA) was founded in 1929 to promote cooperation and education among the 32 Boards of Health (BOHs) in Berkshire County. It began as a loosely defined group that was essentially a networking system for BOH members and agents. In time, educational initiatives were begun on behalf of the whole county, namely, the certification process now in place for septic installers.

BCBOHA holds twice-yearly dinner meetings with an educational component. Past guest speakers have talked about the risks of smoking, Title 5 updates, camp inspections, diseases carried by animals, and risk communication in emergency situation. The Association also promotes the approval of local regulations on protecting wells, creating smoke-free workplaces and developing mutual aid agreements for Local Boards of Health.

As the state and federal governments have begun to include Public Health workers in their definition of first responders, an increasing amount of pressure has been put on BOHs to improve their education, take an active role in emergency planning, and liaise with police and fire departments. To this end, several grants have been directed towards local Boards of Health to increase their interoperability and preparedness. As this has happened, BCBOHA's role in Berkshire County has grown. Federal grant money (from the Center for Disease Control) has come to Massachusetts and has then been parceled out to each county. BCBOHA is the Berkshire County association that has taken on the responsibility of overseeing this and other grants.

The Executive Committee is the governing body of the association. The Committee generally meets every other month, and the meetings are open to any Berkshire County Board of Health member interested in attending. Elections are held during the Association's spring dinner meeting.

BCBOHA is well aware of how difficult it is for local Boards of Health to meet the regulatory and inspectional demands of their towns, not to mention dealing with the many new requirements the state and federal governments are coming up with. Please contact us with any questions or comments about what we do and how we can help you.

President: Vice President: Secretary/Treasurer: Member at Large: Member at Large: Member at Large:

Jeffrey Kennedy, RS, Williamstown John Olander, Richmond & West Stockbridge Eleanor Lovejoy, Mount Washington Scott Koczela, Adams Peter Kolodziej, RS, Tri-Town Health Department Vacant

Program Coordinator: Laura Kittross
Public Health Emergency Planner: Sandra Martin
Special Populations Emergency Planner: Vivian Orlowski
Administrative Assistant: Diane Persson