Berkshire District Medical Society Officers 2024-2025
President: Michael Kaplan, MD
Vice President: Pradeep Manoharan, MD
Secretary: Erwin Stuebner Jr., MD
Treasurer: Everett Lamm, MD
Contact Information
E-mail:
wcro@mms.org
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1092
Wilbraham, MA 01095-7092
Phone: (413) 596-9231
District Event/Activity Contact: MMS West Central Region, (413) 596-9231
Berkshire District News
Medical School or School of Osteopathic Medicine Scholarship Loan
A scholarship loan of $1,000 per year for medical students who are residents of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, was established in September 1961 when the members of the Berkshire District Medical Society approved of a yearly assessment to fund the program.
The amount was increased to $1,500 in 1974 and then increased to $5,000. On March 31, 2021, it was voted to increase the amount to be awarded up to $10,000.
In addition, it was voted that if the awardee returns to Berkshire County to practice as a primary physician and stays for 3 years, 1/3 of the loan would be forgiven each year the awardee practices in Berkshire County.
Scholarships require that recipients be bona fide residents of Berkshire County already accepted at an approved medical school in the United States or Canada. Funds will be paid directly to the school of choice.
The award, known as the Berkshire District Medical Society Revolving Scholarship Loan, was established on a revolving basis so that the repaid funds would help as many medical students as possible. Recipients sign agreements pledging to begin repayment
of the scholarship loan the year of graduation, with half of the amount to be repaid in four years and the balance in two additional years.
This is regarded as a moral obligation and is treated as a contribution to provide more scholarships in the future. Recipients are asked to consider serving residencies in Berkshire County hospitals.
or
Scholarship requests should be directed to c/o Susan Poulin, Berkshire District Scholarship Administrator, 20 Walnut Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201.
VIM Berkshires
VIM Berkshires is the result of a shared dream on the part of many individuals who live in the southern Berkshires: opening a free healthcare clinic to serve the thousands of people living in the southern Berkshire area and adjacent towns in New York
and Connecticut who work without employer-provided health insurance, who do not qualify for governmental assistance programs and who are not financially able to purchase individual healthcare. Group leaders visited the Cape May Courthouse, NJ, West
Chester, PA, and Red Bank, NJ Volunteers in Medicine clinics as well as other free clinics in the Northeast. They became convinced that a volunteer clinic in the southern Berkshires was crucial to closing some of the healthcare gaps facing our community.
For more information please visit the website:
www.vimberkshires.org
