On Wednesday, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity will host a free financial seminar for the community.
“Keep it Safe: Protecting your identity” will be presented in both English and Spanish at the Holyoke Public Library at 250 Chestnut St. Class will start at 6 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend, but participants are required to sign up. To sign up, visit bit.ly/3SL0Odi.
“With how prevalent financial and identity theft scams are today, it’s important to know how to protect yourself against them,” said Olga Callirgos, Habitat homeowner programs coordinator.
Habitat hosts free financial literacy seminars monthly. At the workshop, the presenter will provide information on how people can protect their finances and identities from thieves. To keep up-to-date about future seminars, visit habitatspringfield.org/financial-seminar.
GSHFH is dedicated to strengthening communities by empowering low-income families to change their lives and the lives of future generations through homeownership and home preservation opportunities. Since 1987, Greater Springfield Habitat has built or repaired 129 homes in Hampden County.
For more information, contact Olga Callirgos, homeowner programs coordinator, at callirgos@habitatspringfield.org or 413-739-5503, ext. 1003.
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Monson Savings bank has awarded $28,000 in scholarships to 14 graduating seniors of local high schools.
The bank awarded $2,000 scholarships to the following local high school recipients:
Aniah Myrie, Monson High School; Ciara Monaghan, Monson High School; Colin Beaupre, Monson High School; Delianah Wolf, Monson High School; Emily Baker, East Longmeadow High School; Emily Chagnon, Ware Junior/Senior High School; Emily Roberts, Monson High School; Grace Moltenbrey, East Longmeadow High School; Maggie Stevens, East Longmeadow High School; Noah Fales, Ware Junior/Senior High School; Norah Dumala, Minnechaug Regional High School; Rose Caltabiano, Minnechaug Regional High School; Serina Chan, Minnechaug Regional High School; and Tyler Bonilla, Ware Junior/Senior High School.
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Beacon Communities at Treehouse in Easthampton has begun deep energy retrofitting of existing affordable housing apartments. The retrofit is funded with federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and subsidy funds, with local dollars from the city’s Community Preservation Act funds. Upon completion, 60 residential units will be retrofitted, including 55 affordable apartments for households.
Eight units are affordable for those earning below 30% of the area median income (AMI).
The Treehouse at Easthampton is one of the many projects funded by a mix of federal and state low-income housing tax credits, federal subsidy sources such as HOME and the National Housing Trust Fund, and state bond sources including the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing Stabilization Fund, Housing Innovations Fund and more.
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Mont Marie Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Holyoke has been recognized as a 2024 recipient of a Commitment to Quality bronze award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living for its commitment to improving the lives of residents through quality care.
The distinction is the first of three progressive award levels through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program, which honors providers across the nation that have demonstrated their dedication to enhancing the quality of care for the nation’s seniors and individuals with disabilities.
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Mirick Insurance Agency of Shelburne Falls and Albert B. Allen Insurance Agency of Greenfield each recently entered a partnership with Wheeler & Taylor Insurance, an insurance agency in Great Barrington.
Both firms retain their name, staff, location, and management.
Albert B. Allen Insurance Agency has been serving Franklin County since 1925. Mirick Insurance Agency was founded in 1980.
Founded in 1871, Wheeler & Taylor, Inc. is one of America’s oldest continuously operated financial companies. Operating full-service insurance and real estate brokerage operations from its headquarters in Great Barrington, it has a network of offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Nevada.
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The Society for Simulation in Healthcare awarded Springfield Technical Community College’s SIMS Medical Center with full accreditation in teaching and education.
SSH accreditation serves as a benchmark for excellence in patient simulation.
The SIMS Medical Center, located on the STCC campus in Building 20, was developed to provide an immersive educational environment where students and health care personnel obtain new skills and refine existing skills.
Patient simulations allow students to experience a variety of health care scenarios as they pursue their course of study. Students in the college’s signature health science program also have the opportunity to experience simulations in a variety of fields in their first semester as they explore career opportunities. The program recently added new simulators representing patients with different cultural backgrounds to expand diversity in the lab.
It’s the first time the program has earned full accreditation. The SIMS Medical Center will be accredited until December 2029. The SSH team visited the facility for an onsite review before granting accreditation.
The SIMS Medical Center includes a number of care units with patient simulators that allow students, faculty and providers to conduct medical procedures in real settings.
