At Nantucket Cottage Hospital, cancer care services include both traditional treatments as well as cutting edge immunotherapy that has shown incredible promise in combating certain types of cancer.

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment which helps the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. This type of biological therapy can trigger the immune system to directly attack certain cancer cells or stimulate the immune system generally.

In recent years, immunotherapy has greatly advanced and become an important part of oncologists’ arsenal in combating certain cancers, including multiple myeloma, as well as skin, breast and lung cancers.

At the Swim Across America Infusion Center inside the new Nantucket Cottage Hospital, the island’s oncology team and the hospital pharmacy staff are well-versed in this groundbreaking treatment and are providing immunotherapy to cancer patients right here on Nantucket.

After several practice runs over the past week, Boston MedFlight has resumed patient transfer operations at Nantucket Cottage Hospital and is now using the helipad associated with the new hospital.

For nearly three years, MedFlight had been conducting all transfers from Nantucket Memorial Airport after the previous helipad at NCH was decommissioned and the construction of the new hospital got underway.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital honored the accomplishments of its outgoing President and CEO Dr. Margot Hartmann, as well as its capital campaign chairman Bruce Percelay during its 108^th Annual Meeting Friday morning.

Kevin Hickey, chairman of the NCH Board of Trustees, introduced the hospital’s new interim CEO, Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, DNP, who will take over the role when Dr. Hartmann retires at the end of August until a permanent successor is chosen.

Courtney O’Neill, NCH vice president of development and community relations, marked the completion of the hospital’s $120 million capital campaign by recognizing Percelay’s contributions and the community’s overwhelming support.

“Everyone who has been involved in this campaign can be proud of what we have accomplished together, and there are so many people who contributed their time, their talents and their treasure,” O’Neill said.