Pittsfield Senior Center Staffers Save Life on Hot June DayBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:17PM / Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | |
 Director of Administrative Services Catherine Van Bramer presents mayoral citations to Cora Scarborough and Pat Rosse for their life-saving actions in this screenshot from Pittsfield Community Television's recording of the Aug. 12 City Council meeting. |
Fire Chief Thomas Sammons presents the department's new Deputy Chief Matthew Packard, left, Fire Capt. Kevin Brady and Fire Lt. Jesse Underwood-Miller.
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Two Senior Center staff members saved a woman's life while she was having a medical emergency on an extremely hot June day.
During last Tuesday's City Council meeting, Cora Scarborough and Pat Rosse were recognized for their actions on June 17, when they helped stabilize a senior citizen having a seizure in a hot car near the Ralph Froio Senior Center before emergency responders arrived.
The woman had reportedly been in a medical emergency for over half an hour.
"They were alerted to a senior experiencing a medical crisis in their parked vehicle. Upon locating the individual, they discovered the senior had been having a seizure for over 40 minutes and was unresponsive. Without hesitation, they immediately called 911 and began rendering aid," explained Director of Administrative Services Catherine Van Bramer, as Mayor Peter Marchetti was in a meeting with the Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.
"They calmly spoke to the individual in an effort to keep them alert, and took crucial measures, including applying cold compresses and carefully positioning the senior on their side to prevent choking."
Emergency responders arrived shortly after, and Van Bramer said, "thanks to the quick and decisive actions of Cora and Pat, the senior was transported to the hospital and made a recovery."
"Due to their calmness in being under pressure and providing prompt first aid response, you saved this individual's life," she said while turning to Scarborough and Rosse. They were presented with certificates of recognition as the council chambers applauded.
Theresa Bianchi, chair of the Council on Aging Board, said it was "truly a remarkable situation" that the women responded to without hesitation.
"It, of course, was a very steamy, hot day in June that unfortunately we've had too many of, and this woman was just unresponsive and in a medical crisis," she said.
"They really do exemplify the excellence of our center staff, and we would just like to thank you for taking the time to recognize them, as we do, and our entire community."
The council also congratulated the permanent appointments of Deputy Chief Matthew Packard, Fire Capt. Kevin Brady and Fire Lt. Jesse Underwood-Miller.
Fire Chief Thomas Sammons said, "these guys put the time and the effort in to make the department and the city better."
The council also authorized the execution and consummation of opioid settlement agreements. City Solicitor Devon Grierson explained, "This is simply a vote to authorize the mayor to vote to enter into those settlement agreements."
The National Consortium recommends that the mayor approve the Purdue Plan, sign the Governmental Entity Settlement Agreement, and participate in all nine new opioid defendant settlements.
All 55 state attorneys general have signed a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, for distributing opioids that fueled an addiction epidemic. State and local governments in Massachusetts could receive as much as $105 million from this settlement over the next 15 years, contingent on bankruptcy court proceedings.
"Under the Sacklers' ownership, Purdue made and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling the largest drug crisis in the nation's history," Mass.gov reads.
"The settlement ends the Sacklers' control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States. Communities across the country will directly receive funds over the next 15 years to support addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery."
Councilors didn't get to all agenda items because a required vote to continue the meeting for another hour after 10 p.m. failed to reach two-thirds. This included Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren's petition to exclusively use the funds for homeless issues related to opioid addiction.
He confirmed that the council will still have to accept the funds and explained, "I will support this, knowing that we'll have another chance, because I think those funds should go elsewhere, and we'll deal with that on another night."
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