Alum Bringing Primary Care Back to the Berkshires

Christa Gariepy, DHA ’23, is leading initiatives across Berkshire County to increase the number of primary care providers for residents and visitors alike.

For affluent travelers from around the world, the Berkshires are a mountainous escape. Massachusetts’ westernmost county offers picturesque landscapes, luxury retreats, and world-class arts and music.

There’s something else happening in Berkshire County, though, that tourists would never see—a primary healthcare revival.

While much of the U.S. is experiencing a shortage of primary care providers, Christa Gariepy, DHA ’23, has made it her personal and professional mission to reverse that trend in Berkshire County. Dr. Gariepy is Director of Primary Care Operations at Berkshire Health Systems, a department that has nearly tripled the number of outpatient care offices, quadrupled the number of pediatricians, and is working to open a clinic for high-risk patients.

This year, Dr. Gariepy landed on Berkshire Community College’s 40 Under Forty, among people working to improve quality of life across Berkshire County.

“Public recognition mortifies me,” she said. “It’s an honor to work in primary care. Every day, I remind myself that I get paid to do this.”

As uncomfortable as the accolades made her, Dr. Gariepy felt it was all worth it to receive her award with her two young sons watching from the front row.

“It was overwhelming to stand on stage, reflect on the impact of my work, and it was so sweet to see my sons beaming up at me.”

The idea of settling and starting a family brought Dr. Gariepy back to Berkshire County. She grew up in North Adams until college. Pursuing psychology, she moved eastward, first to Springfield, then Boston. She worked in the city, managing a children’s health initiative with the Department of Public Health.

After meeting her husband, they moved to Pittsfield, Berkshire County’s most populous city. In need of a job with greater opportunities for growth, she applied for a position with Berkshire Health Systems.

“My first job here was in patient relations, which was fascinating,” Dr. Gariepy said. “I hadn’t specifically imagined myself in healthcare management, but a decade later, I was in charge of several hospital departments.”

By then, she could see the fast-growing need for quality, outpatient care. “As a non-clinical leader, I needed to make a strategic career move,” she explained. “Primary care is not what it was 20 years ago. There are just not enough clinicians to go around.”

She hesitantly left Berkshire Health Systems, but only long enough to gain the experience she needed. A few years later, she returned to lead the system’s primary care operations.

“When I tell you this is my dream job, I mean it,” she said.

But securing the job wasn’t enough. About the same time, Dr. Gariepy started working towards her Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA) from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). To her, it was the right next step.

“I care about my profession the same way my physician and clinical partners care about their practice,” she said. “I wanted to be a professional healthcare administrator.”

Throughout the program, Dr. Gariepy would bring challenges from work to class assignments and discussions, gathering feedback from her peers—healthcare leaders from around the world.

She’d also use her experience to help her classmates through their own professional challenges.

“When I’m talking to my nursing director, for example, I can shift my perspective and be open-minded to their perspective because it’s what we did for three years in the program.”

With a doctorate and nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Gariepy works every day to increase access to primary healthcare across Berkshire County. She has helped physicians facing financial challenges or nearing retirement move their practices to a health system, ensuring their patients receive uninterrupted care.

She has helped open new clinics, focusing on groups with great need, like children. This summer, she’s working to open a high-risk patient clinic in Pittsfield, where patients can easily access multiple specialties in one location.

She has even created care options for the Berkshire’s seasonal visitors, recently helping a physician open a membership-based primary care service.

“There’s demand for it, and it’s an innovative healthcare model that benefits everyone involved,” she said.

At this point, Dr. Gariepy is content with her title, accomplishments, and desire to find creative ways to increase access to primary care. She said there’s nothing more she wants out of her profession, other than to make her home county healthier.

“I would feel a true sense of accomplishment if anyone who needed primary care in the

Berkshires could get it,” she said. “It’s all about access and prioritizing resources in a thoughtful and sustainable way.”