Nantucket’s new community hospital, the first new medical facility on the island in more than 60 years, opened for patient care on February 20, 2019. Our new hospital enhances access, safety and privacy for patients, allowing us to better serve the island community with a broad range of medical services. We are proud that Nantucket sets a national standard for small community hospitals by offering expanded outpatient services with capacity for inpatient care and surgery, giving patients a central location for all their healthcare needs, including primary, emergency, and specialty care, as well as diagnostic testing. Thanks to an unprecedented $120 million capital campaign, the largest in Nantucket history, the new hospital was built entirely through private donations, debt-free, and with no taxpayer dollars.
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Fast Facts
- Thanks to an unprecedented $120 million capital campaign, the largest in Nantucket history, the new hospital was built entirely through private donations, debt-free, and with no taxpayer dollars.
- Following the completion of the $89 million new hospital project, Nantucket Cottage Hospital will use the remaining capital campaign funds to complete its campus with new staff housing units to help address the island’s affordable housing crisis and fulfill the promise of the new facility.
- At a time when small, rural hospitals are shutting down across the country at an alarming rate, Nantucket Cottage Hospital has galvanized the support of the island community to secure its future.
- As the former whaling capital of the world, the entire island of Nantucket is designated as an historic district, and the new hospital required the approval of the island’s elected architectural review board. The design of the facility balances Nantucket’s architectural heritage and sensibility with the modern healthcare services provided inside its walls.
- With lessons learned from hurricanes like Katrina and Sandy, the new Nantucket Cottage Hospital will set a new standard for resiliency in community hospitals. The facility will meet hurricane design specifications established by Miami Dade County, some of the strictest in the country, allowing it to withstand winds in excess of 185 mph. In addition to other resilient design features, all of the building’s mechanical systems have been installed on the roof, rather than in a basement.
- The new hospital will also be certified as a LEED Gold v4 building, a standard that will provide synergies within the building systems, solutions for optimizing performance, and allow NCH to achieve better environmental and economic outcomes from the new facility.
- Nantucket Cottage Hospital is a member of Mass General Brigham. In designing and building the island’s new hospital, the goal was to provide the best of both worlds to Nantucket residents and visitors: the expertise and resources of a world-class healthcare system, paired with the comfort, tradition, and familiarity of the island’s beloved community hospital.