Hospital
Cooley Dickinson Hospital
30 Locust St. (Rte. 9), Northampton
(413) 582-2000 www.cooley-dickinson.org
Healthcare is complicated these days, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital excels in helping their patients navigate that landscape. A hospital like theirs, say leaders, is only as strong as its network, and so Cooley Dickinson is better for its strong ties to the community and to other hospitals and medical centers. “That relationship with other hospitals can be brought back into the community here,” says Dr. A. Kim Saal, executive vice president. With the same physicians, procedures and protocols available at Massachusetts General Hospital, the new Mass. Gen. Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson is a testament to that point — CEO Joanne Marqusee says the center is “the best of both worlds.”
2nd: Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St., Springfield
(413) 794-0000 www.baystatehealth.org
3rd: Baystate Franklin Medical Center
164 High St., Greenfield
(413) 773-0211 www.baystatehealth.org
Urgent care facility
AEIOU Urgent Care
170 University Dr., Amherst
(413) 461-3530 www.aeiouhc.com
Ambulatory Employee Industrial Occupational Urgent Healthcare may be long in name, but not in line — the locally owned urgent care center prides itself in its ability to offer patients low-cost care without long wait times. Unlike other urgent care centers, employees at AEIOU aren’t traded in and out with other institutions and so are able to provide a more personal level of care, says medical director Ray Conway. “Winning the award was about our patients,” Conway says. “We try to provide an individualized service, repay them for the trust they showed in us.”
2nd: On Call Urgent Care
6 Hatfield St., Northampton
(413) 584-7425 www.oncallemergencymedicine.com
3rd: Baystate Urgent Care Northampton
325 King St., Northampton
(413) 387-4100 www.baystatehealth.org
Birthing center
Cooley Dickinson Childbirth Center
30 Locust St. (Rte. 9), Northampton
(413) 582-2000 www.cooley-dickinson.org
This place is all about family, which is what you’d expect at a birthing center, but Cooley Dickinson takes it a step further. The center is warm, friendly, and has room for the whole family to visit. There’s a gentle section, clear drapes, hydrotherapy labor tubs, and plenty of time for skin-to-skin contact with new parents and baby. “We live next door to our patients,” said interim director Margaret-Ann Azzaro. “We see them a lot and we know them so we take extra care in delivering their babies.”
2nd: Wesson Women & Infants at Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St., Springfield
(413) 794-0000 www.baystatehealth.org
3rd: The Birthplace at Baystate Franklin Medical Center
164 High St., Greenfield
(413) 773-0211 www.baystatehealth.org
Place for therapeutic massage
Elements Hot Tub Spa
373 Main St., Amherst
(413) 256-8827 www.elementshottubspa.com
Diana and Jeff Krauth, owners of Elements Hot Tub Spa, suggest you do as they do and follow your bliss to their Amherst healing center. In this world of many screens and fewer and fewer personal interactions, they say, it’s increasingly important to make the time for person-to-person healing. In a high-tech world, they say, humanity needs high-touch for balance. It’s a service that “transcends the internet,” Jeff Krauth says. “It’s an ancient relationship — healer and patient.” The spa boasts 14 healers trained in a range of modalities.
2nd: The Healing Zone
241 Russell St. (Rte. 9), Hadley
(413) 585-0077 www.thehealingzonemassage.com
3rd: Pioneer Valley Pain Relief Therapies
245 Russell St. (Rte. 9), Hadley
(413) 427-0471 pvpainrelief.com
Cosmetic surgeon
Dr. Glen S. Brooks/ Aesthetic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
776 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow
(413) 565-4400 www.drglenbrooks.com
Dr. Brooks started his practice in 1992, and he is best known for cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face, breast and body, as well as nonsurgical treatments for improvement of appearance. Simple, easy procedures like “CoolSculpting” — a non-invasive one-hour treatment that freezes and breaks down fat — can make people feel good about themselves, Brooks says recalling a time in medical school when he saw a plastic surgeon do a breast reconstruction on a woman who had had a mastectomy. “Most surgery is destructive,” he says, “but this was creating something. It makes somebody whole again instead of taking something away. To make someone look better and feel better about themselves — it’s pretty amazing.”
2nd: Dr. Roger Allcroft
163 Conz St., Northampton
(413) 586-3200 www.allcroftsurgery.com
3rd: Dr. Simone Topal/Cooley Dickinson Medical Group Plastic Surgery
40 Main St., Ste. 202, Florence
(413) 584-0044 www.cooley-dickinson.org/cdmg/plastic-surgery.aspx
Dentist (individual)
Dr. James Clayton/Clayton & Canby Dental, PC
243 King St., Ste 112, Northampton
(413) 584-5199 www.jclaytondmd.com
Best known for general dental and implant care, Clayton and Canby Dental in Northampton offers “caring and sensible” dental service that draws on a 34-year relationship with one of the best laboratories in the business, ensuring patients receive quality implants, crowns and veneers. Their state of the art office includes 3-D imaging for implant patients and a certification with the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.
2nd: Dr. Martin Wohl/Wohl Family Dentistry
269 Locust St., Northampton
(413) 586-6180 www.wohlfamilydentistry.com
3rd: Dr. Sue Keller/Strong & Healthy Smiles
40 Main St., Ste. 204, Florence
(413) 586-9363 www.strongandhealthysmiles.com
Orthodontic practice
Rigali & Walder Orthodontics
269 Locust St., Northampton (413) 586-8455 196 N. Pleasant St., Amherst (413) 253-0001 www.rigaliwalderorthodontics.com
Best known for the quality of their work and the friendliness of their team, Rigali & Walder have been providing orthodontic services for 30 years. The office is featuring “accelerated orthodontics” that can speed up the rate of tooth movement with micropulses or bone-growth stimulation. “Everyone wants things done faster and still with quality,” said Linda Rigali, “and that’s what we give them.”
2nd: Demaio Orthodontics
264 Elm St., Northampton (413) 586-0555 23 Pray St., Amherst (413) 548-8822 www.demaioorthodontics.com
3rd: Dr. R. Scott Smith Orthodontics
275 Bicentennial Hwy., Springfield (413) 783-1111 25 College St., South Hadley (413) 536-0847 www.gotsmiles.net
Eye doctor
Dr. Eric Dostal/Dostal Eyecare
250 Northampton St., Easthampton
(413) 527-9284 www.dostaleyecare.com
First-time Best Of winner Dr. Eric Dostal grew up in Florence, which means he often knows his patients before they walk in the door for the first time. Every staff member at Dostal Eyecare, he says, is hand-picked for his or her cheerful, caring nature as much as for their expertise in the field. “When patients walk in,” he says, “they are welcomed into a conversation as a neighbor and friend.” The eye doctor’s office, which opened in the fall of 2013, has a new line of blue-light blocking, anti-fatigue glasses for computer, tablet, and smartphone users, as well as one-day disposable bifocal contact lenses.
2nd: Dr. Nancy Balin/Balin Eye & Laser Center
269 Locust St., Northampton, 1268 Sumner Ave., Springfield
(800) 436-EYES www.balineye.com
3rd: Dr. Maribeth Erb/Optical Studio
274 Pleasant St., Northampton
(413) 584-6616 www.opticalstudioweb.com
Alternative medicine
Clinic Alternative Medicine
98 Main St., Northampton
(413) 341-5224 www.clinic-northampton.com
This Northampton wellness center, which opened in 2011, provides space for practitioners to run their businesses, with some back-end support and space management from owner Jen Nery and her team. “We have a lovely, rotating cast of characters,” Nery says of the center’s practitioners, who do acupuncture, massage, reiki, homeopathy, dream work, shamanism, and herbal medicine. There is also a retail space, with products curated by the practitioners. Nery, who works as one of the center’s two acupuncturists, basically made up the center’s business model from scratch. “We have a newsletter, we do outreach, and we’re all coordinated now,” she says. “It creates a natural network.”
2nd: Northampton Wellness Associates
395 Pleasant St., Northampton
(413) 584-7787 www.northamptonwellness.com
3rd: Greenfield Community Accupuncture
345 Main St., 2nd Fl., Greenfield
(413) 772-0077 www.trygca.com
Health food store
River Valley Co-op
330 N. King St., Northampton
(413) 584-2665 www.rivervalleymarket.coop
See earlier write-up under “Best Local market/grocer.”
2nd: Cornucopia
150 Main St. (Thornes Marketplace), Northampton
(413) 586-3800 www.cornucopiafoods.net
3rd: Whole Foods Market
327 Russell St. (Rte. 9), Hadley
(413) 586-9932 www.wholefoodsmarket.com
Day spa
Brooks & Butterfield
140 Main St., 2nd floor, Northampton
(413) 586-0366 www.brooksandbutterfield.com
The spa has been serving people looking to heal and/or unwind in the Valley since 2001. Focusing on personal-level care, Shannon Fleury, owner of Brooks & Butterfiled, prizes the business on producing time-tested, but unique services. Fleury says the spa is looking to expand its skincare and cosmetics offerings. “Each individual gets an authentic and personal experience,” Fleury says.
2nd: Elements Hot Tub Spa
373 Main St., Amherst
(413) 256-8827 www.elementshottubspa.com
3rd: East Heaven Hot Tubs
33 West St., Northampton
(413) 587-0000 eastheaven.com
