(February 1, 2024) – Nantucket Cottage Hospital is delighted to announce that local resident Steven Kohler, MD, joined NCH in January 2024 as Medical Director of Urgent Access. A graduate of Temple Medical School, Dr. Kohler’s background includes a transitional internship and Internal Medicine Residency at Cambridge Hospital, a Harvard Medical School program, as well as an Emergency Medicine Residency at University Hospital, Jacksonville, University of Florida.

Dr. Kohler brings a wealth of experience to his new role having served as an Emergency Medicine Physician at Cape Cod Hospital since 1996. He has lived on Nantucket fulltime since then and has been doing the “reverse commute” to Cape Cod during that time. While at Cape Cod Hospital he has experienced over 125,000 emergency room and urgent care patient encounters.

Dr. Kohler commented, “I am looking forward to expanding urgent access on the island. We hope to include expanding the urgent care to non-appointment-based encounters, as well as simple procedures such as laceration care.”

Amy Lee, President, and COO of NCH, remarked, “We took the feedback regarding Urgent Access from the community very seriously and are investing in the expansion of services. We are excited that Dr. Kohler will provide his expertise to this critical role.”

Urgent Access is for minor injuries or illnesses like tick bites, rashes, sprains, coughs, colds, sore throats, fevers, and eye infections. Urgent Access care is available to everyone – not just existing Nantucket Cottage Hospital patients. However, to be treated at the Urgent Access Clinic, patients will need to be registered with Mass General Brigham. Those who have received care at Nantucket Cottage Hospital in the past are already registered. All others should call 866-211-6588 to register.

Patients may make an Urgent Access appointment by accessing MGB’s online Patient Gateway or by calling 508-825-1000.

(September 2023) Nantucket Cottage Hospital is hosting flu vaccine clinics this fall. Appointments are required and are available to book on the Patient Gateway or by calling 508-825-1000. Flu shots will be administered in the Anderson Building on the hospital campus at 57 Prospect Street.

• Monday, September 18, 2023
• Wednesday, September 20, 2023
• Saturday, September 23, 2023
• Tuesday, September 26, 2023
• Thursday, September 28, 2023
• Saturday, September 30, 2023 during Island Health Fair at 57 Prospect Street, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (no appointments required during Health Fair)
• Tuesday, October 10, 2023
• Thursday, October 12, 2023
• Tuesday, October 24, 2023
• Tuesday, November 7, 2023
• Thursday, November 9, 2023
• Wednesday, November 15, 2023
• Thursday, November 16, 2023
• Friday, November 24, 2023 (for all ages – clinic located in Physician Practices in main hospital, not Anderson Building)
• Thursday, December 28, 2023 (for all ages – clinic located in Physician Practices in main hospital, not Anderson Building)

Additional clinic dates will be added to meet demand. Both COVID and flu vaccines are also available to patients during a regular primary care visit.

For COVID vaccine clinic dates, click here.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year, and the Centers for Disease Control recommends annual influenza vaccination for everyone 6 months and older.

(April 5, 2023) Nantucket Cottage Hospital received a new, state-of-the-art MRI scanner in April 2023. The new MRI is now the most costly piece of equipment at NCH and was purchased thanks to generous donations from the Hospital Thrift Shop. “The new MRI provides much faster scan times and higher resolution images. The faster scan times are a big improvement in convenience and comfort for patients and will make more appointments available. The higher image resolution means that many diagnostic procedures that have previously required a costly trip off-island can now be done here on Nantucket.” – Dr. Chinyere “C” Rumph, NCH Director of Imaging. Click the video below to get an inside look at the new MRI, produced by NCH staffer Kareem Vessah in the NCH Imaging Department.

(February 16, 2023) Nantucket Cottage Hospital has been recognized as a 2023 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital for the second consecutive year. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, this annual recognition program honors outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX™.

Amy Lee, President of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, said, “this designation is truly an achievement to be proud of and it is because of the high-quality, community focused care our team provides to every patient and their families.”

Now in its 13th year, the INDEX has established itself as the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Leveraging publicly available data, the INDEX is trusted by rural hospitals, health systems with rural affiliates, hospital associations and state offices of rural health across the country to measure and monitor performance across a variety of areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

“Amidst uncertainty, transition and strain, these top performers are excelling in managing risk, achieving higher quality, securing better outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, and operating at a lower cost than their peers. These groups serve as a benchmark for other rural facilities as they strive to achieve similar results and provide a blueprint for successfully navigating the uncertainty of the new healthcare,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, the Chartis Center for Rural Health. “Across the nation, top 100 rural providers continue to serve as a source of inspiration for hospital leadership teams and staff working diligently every day to improve the delivery of care within their local communities.”

On Tuesday, January 3, Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Fairwinds will launch a new integrated system of community-wide mental health crisis response.  The collaboration, which has been in development for months, grew out of the work of the Nantucket Community Behavioral Health Initiative which identified the fragmented system of mental health crisis response to be one of the key gaps in its 2021 assessment of behavioral health systems on the island.

As of 12AM on January 3, the new island-wide mental health crisis number is 508-221-3315.  Fairwinds, which has been designated the Community Behavioral Health Center and Crisis Responder for Nantucket by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will respond to crisis calls 24/7 365 days a year.   In addition to addressing crisis calls in the community and in the schools, Fairwinds clinicians will provide crisis evaluations in the hospital emergency department and provide consultation for treatment of patients waiting for discharge to on-island outpatient services or transfer to an off-island in-patient facility.

“When the state came up with its new approach to community crisis response we were well positioned because we were already at the table working collaboratively to make it better,” said Amy Lee, President of Nantucket Cottage Hospital.  “When Fairwinds applied for and was selected to be the CBHC (Community Behavioral Health Center) for Nantucket – which was a big step and a huge commitment – it just made sense for the community for it to be one integrated system that we all commit to support.”

While the state’s guidelines and contracts only apply to Mass Health patients, the new system on Nantucket will be “payer blind” giving every person access to the same system regardless of insurance status.   Patients who need in-patient care will get placement in an off-island facility through Mass General Brigham’s central access program which provides a single team to manage all behavioral health inpatient placement throughout the MGB system and beyond.

Jason Bridges, Executive Director of Fairwinds, added “This collaboration between Fairwinds and the Nantucket Cottage Hospital will provide better care for those in crisis while significantly improving the overall behavioral health care for our island. Driving towards one integrated system with first responders, the schools, human services organizations, and the broader community will put people first and improve our overall level of care and well-being,”