On Wednesday, August 24th, 2022, Board of Trustees Chair, Craig Muhlhauser, welcomed members of the community to Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s 111th Annual Meeting at The Nantucket Hotel. This was the first in-person NCH Annual Meeting since the summer of 2019. In his remarks Mr. Muhlhauser described a vision for the post COVID-19 future of the hospital that includes an emphasis on community engagement and talent development. Jeanette Ives-Erickson, RN, DNP, Interim President, also spoke about the team and shared excerpts of positive feedback from the public. The Annual Meeting was the first opportunity for many in the community to meet Dr. Barbara Malone since she was named Chief Medical Officer at NCH. Dr. Malone spoke about the record volume that NCH has seen this summer and the adjustments that have enabled the hospital to handle it. The Annual Meeting marked the end of board terms for trustees Stephen Karp and Sally Mason Boemer. Tim Mullen and Betsy Wright were named as new board members and previous trustee Jeanine Borthwick, who co-chaired the capital campaign for the new building, will rejoin the board.

A highlight of every Annual Meeting is the recognition of community members who have had a positive impact on the hospital and the heath of the community. This year NCH presented two Sandy Craig Leadership Awards. The award this year went to retiring Fire Chief Stephen Murphy and to outgoing NCH trustee Stephen Karp. The 2022 Myrt Eldridge Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Jeanine Borthwick who architected the “Acks of Love” employee appreciation program in early 2022. The Phil Murray Business Award was presented to Hy-Line Cruises who transported over 50,000 COVID-19 test samples to the mainland free of charge over the course of the pandemic. The Bruce A. Percelay Philanthropy Award was presented to Kim and Alan Hartman who co-chaired the NCH Annual Fund for the past two years. This year’s Seinfeld/Hartmann Prize for Compassionate Care winner is Bonnie Fitz-Gibbon, the Palliative Care Counselor at PASCON.

 August 10, 2022 – Today, the American Academy of Nursing announced that Jeanette Ives Erickson RN, DNP, NEA-BC, FAAN is a recipient of its Living Legend Award.

The Living Legend designation from the American Academy of Nursing is bestowed upon a very small number of nurses in recognition of the multiple contributions these individuals have made to the nursing profession and to society. Moreover, this award recognizes the continuing impact of these contributions on the accessibility of health care services in the United States and throughout the world.

“Nursing is the journey of a lifetime, and I am humbled to receive this recognition. I started my career as a critical care nurse, and I had the great honor of serving as Chief Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Today, I am fortunate to be back with the Nantucket community,” said Ives Erickson. “Nurses have the opportunity to influence almost every aspect of health care, from restoring patients back to health, being an educator, researcher, mentor, or policy maker. I have worked with so many nurses who I have incredible respect for, including the nurse leaders who nominated me for this recognition, and they are all living legends in their own right.”

Each Living Legend must be a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for at least 15 years. While over 2,000 nurses have achieved the FAAN designation, only a few dozen have been named Living Legends since the inception of the award in 1995.

“Nantucket is instilled with hardworking people who deserve to have the best health care available to them right here at home,” said Ives Erickson. “Knowing how wonderful and dedicated the people here are made coming out of retirement easy. When I look at who else has been recognized as a living legend, they are icons in nursing. Even with this award, it’s hard to see myself as anything but just a local girl, here to support my community.”

Ives Erickson is Chief Nurse Emerita at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), an Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and a Professor at MGH Institute of Health Professions. While she had planned to officially retire, in March of this year Ives Erickson came out of retirement to accept the position as Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s interim president and CEO. For Ives Erickson, it will mark her second stint in this position. She previously served in that role for six months following the departure of Margot Hartmann in August 2019.

“Throughout her career, Jeanette has made countless, extraordinary contributions to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, including serving as a role model for so many of us. Her compassion, caring attitude, self-sacrifice and focus on providing quality care for everyone is exemplary. The impact and legacy she has on this island and with the Hospital and Community will be everlasting. Jeanette is so very well deserving of this recognition, and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to celebrate her in this manner,” says Craig Muhlhauser, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Nantucket Cottage Hospital. (more…)

(July 8, 2022) – Nantucket Cottage Hospital will be offering a pediatric only COVID-19 vaccine clinic from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 16th, in the hospital’s primary care clinic for children between 6-months old and 5-years old.

Once a parent or guardian signs up their child for the first dose, they will be scheduled for a second dose six weeks later and a third dose eight weeks following the second. Although patients have the opportunity to receive all three doses at NCH, if the child has already started the Pfizer series, parents may bring their child’s vaccine card to the clinic to receive their second or third dose. A new card will be provided for patients receiving their first vaccine at NCH.

July 16 – Pfizer 1st Dose

August 27 – Pfizer 2nd Dose

October 22 – Pfizer 3rd Dose

Appointments for NCH’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinic can be made by calling +1 (508) 825-1000. Patients must be registered with Mass General Brigham before receiving their pediatric vaccine. To register, please call +1 (866) 211-6588. If you have received care at Nantucket Cottage Hospital or another MGB facility in the past you are already registered.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is pleased to publish our annual Philanthropy Impact report to highlight our generous community of volunteers and donors.

NCH will open an Urgent Access Clinic on May 23, 2022 in the Anderson Building at 57 Prospect Street to offer easy and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening conditions. 

Beginning May 23, urgent access appointments will be available Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Appointments can be made through Mass General Brigham’s Patient Gateway. Log-in to your Patient Gateway account and look for “Find Urgent Care Center” under the “Find Care” menu option to schedule your appointment.

If you cannot make an appointment online, call 508-825-1000 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Urgent Access appointments are intended for a range of symptoms, including:

• Coughs, colds, or sore throat
• Ear and eye infections
• Fever
• Minor injuries (scrapes, cuts, minor burns, sprains)
• Muscle/back pain
• Rashes
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Tick bites
• Urinary tract infections
• Vaginal infections, such as yeast infections

Read more about Urgent Access at Nantucket Cottage Hospital.