making news

FLORENCE — For the second time in two years, Keiter Corporation has made a sizeable donation to the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce for a promotion that allows consumers to purchase a $25 Northampton gift card and receive $50 in actual spending power.

The most recent gift of $20,000 — twice the amount of that made in August 2021 — was made to provide economic stimulus in the post-pandemic era and also create goodwill in the community. Billed as the “Strengthen the Community with a Keiter Card” campaign, the latest donation will be supplemented by a $5,000 contribution from the Chamber’s Community Revitalization Fund; this means 1,000 of the double-valued gift cards will be sold.

The promotion will launch on Tuesday and the $25 Keiter Gift Cards will be sold while supplies last. Cards will be sold only at the Chamber offices at 99 Pleasant St. in Northampton on weekdays between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Consumers must mention that they want a Keiter Card, and the promotion applies only to $25 Northampton gift card purchases. There is a limit of one card per customer, per transaction.

Based in Florence, Keiter has provided general contracting and construction management services in the Valley since 2010 for its commercial and residential projects.

The Northampton Gift Card is currently accepted at over 80 local businesses, including restaurants, shops, service locations, spas and other establishments.

Newsweek names Cooley Dickinson a ‘Best Maternity Hospital’ 

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital has been named a Best Maternity Hospital 2022 by Newsweek magazine. This award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., a statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

Honors went to the top 350 leading hospitals for maternity care in the United States, which are divided into two performance categories: five ribbon hospitals (161 institutions) and four ribbon hospitals (189 institutions); Cooley Dickinson earned four ribbons. See the complete list online at Newsweek.com/bmc-2022.

In recognition of the Newsweek ranking, the city of Northampton marked July 27, 2022 as “Childbirth Center Day at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.”

Newsweek and Statista developed a complex methodology to ensure the quality and validity of the ranking. They invited over 10,000 medical professionals to participate in the survey. Three data sources were used for the evaluation: a nationwide online survey of hospital managers and health care professionals with knowledge about maternity processes, such as midwives, neonatal and OB/GYNs, who were asked to recommend leading maternity hospitals in the U.S.; medical key performance indicators on hospitals with a focus on indicators relevant to maternity care; and results from patient surveys.

Meanwhile, CDH’s Childbirth Center is being renovated to update the space and add important new services, such as upgrading the newborn nursery to provide newborns with extra care and attention.

Family-focused care requires new equipment and furnishings, including ergonomic labor beds; comfortable partner/family beds; overhead heat lamps to facilitate skin-to-skin contact and foster healthy attachments; wireless fetal monitors for infants and hemo-dynamic monitors – advanced technology when needed – for the birth parent.

To date, $2.3 million of the $2.8 million project budget has been raised in support of the Childbirth Center. Renovations are expected to be completed in January of 2023.

Florence Bank Hires Kyle Toelken of Belchertown

FLORENCE — Florence Bank has hired Kyle Toelken of Belchertown to serve as assistant vice president / branch manager of the Belchertown branch.

Toelken was hired in May and has 12 years of banking experience.

A Ware native committed to community involvement, he has volunteered with Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts, helping present lesson plans to school-aged children. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Franklin Pierce University.