Hospital & Community Spotlight

An individual diagnosed with COVID-19 on Nantucket died Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 after being transferred to a higher level of care. This marks the second suspected COVID-19-related death in the past three days among individuals who tested positive for the disease on Nantucket.

With Nantucket still designated as a high-risk community by the state of Massachusetts, the Town of Nantucket and Nantucket Cottage Hospital are urging the island community to take this situation extremely seriously, take every precaution, and adhere to the orders put in place by the Commonwealth and the Town to protect our population during the pandemic. We must continue to work together to stop the spread of this virus and have a safe fall and winter season.

There are simple things that everyone can do to help keep cases down: wash your hands, stay physically distant, refrain from large gatherings, and wear a mask when you go out in public. If you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, please come to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital drive-through for an evaluation. If a contact tracer calls you, please be respectful and cooperate fully with the case investigation. For those who have been exposed to someone who is positive, please respect and follow the requirement to isolate for 14 days.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Nantucket Cottage Hospital reported 4 new cases of COVID-19 on Nantucket among patients tested at our drive-through evaluation site. That brings the total number of new cases on the island over the past week to 38, and the 7-day positive rate – which is the percentage of tests that are coming back positive – increased to 6.5 percent.

To underscore the seriousness of this situation, I will share with you that one of our inpatients who tested positive for COVID-19 was transferred by Medflight helicopter to a higher level of care due to the severity of the illness this person was experiencing. This is the third COVID-positive patient who has needed to be transferred by Medflight in the past week. We are wishing the best for all these patients and hope they will make a full recovery

We know that most cases of coronavirus are generally mild, but the virus can cause serious illness necessitating ICU-level care or even death in a small percentage of patients. Generally these are people who are older or have preexisting conditions, but COVID-19 can impact healthy people too, and we are just beginning to understand the potential for long-term health impacts of the disease.

This is why we urge everyone in the community to take this situation extremely seriously and recommit to the precautions that will limit the spread and keep our community safe. We know this is a social virus that requires people to be gathering and mingling in order to spread. Collectively, it is our behaviors that are driving this increase in cases on Nantucket.

So let’s all remember the simple things that can help keep cases down: wash your hands, stay physically distant, refrain from large gatherings, and wear a mask when you go out in public. If a contact tracer calls you, please be respectful and cooperate fully with the case investigation. For those who have been exposed to someone who is positive, please respect and follow the requirement to isolate for 14 days.

Beyond the serious impacts to the health and wellness of our community, the latest surge of cases means that Nantucket will continue to classified by the state as a “red” high-risk community well into October. This designation has significant consequences for the schools, for our children, as well as island businesses and the local economy. (more…)

After the birth of their daughter Piper at The Birthplace at NCH, Brian and Kate Sullivan shared a wonderful message of thanks to our team.

“This weekend our daughter Piper Grey Sullivan was born at Nantucket Cottage Hospital on Saturday Sept 26th 2020.  We are full of joy to welcome her home here on island.  Both Piper and Kate are home recovering healthy and happy and, are all doing well after the great care received at NCH. We can’t say enough about the experience we had this past weekend.  The new facility was a pleasure to be in, but the real shining star was the team of nurses, techs, doctors and support staff that treated us so well as our family grew. We are overflowing with gratitude to the entire staff at NCH especially the teams working labor and delivery over the weekend, including Rakeem Baker, Rachael Connealy, Jessica Douglas, Erika Noke, Ruthie Tonico, and Emily Wendelken. We were also supported by an amazing doula Sunny Daily who was able to attend the birth, helping complete the joyful experience for us.”

(Domingo, 27 de setembro) Desde sexta-feira, 25 de setembro, o Nantucket Cottage Hospital relatou 19 novos casos de COVID-19 entre pacientes que foram testados no posto de avaliação do hospital feitos pelas janelas dos carros. O índice positivo por sete dias na ilha saltou para 4,3%.

O rastreamento de contatos e a investigação dos casos estão em andamento, cujos contatos próximos sendo encaminhados para teste. Entre esses novos casos refere-se a um grupo ligado a um culto numa igreja na ilha.

Este incidente deve servir como um lembrete à comunidade para evitar grandes aglomerações e sempre usar máscara quando estiver em público, quando o distanciamento físico não for possível. (more…)

(Domingo 28 de septiembre) Desde el viernes 25 de septiembre, el Hospital Nantucket Cottage ha informado de 19 nuevos casos de COVID-19 entre los pacientes que fueron evaluados en el sitio de evaluación del hospital. La tasa positiva de siete días para la isla ha aumentado al 4,3 por ciento.

La búsqueda de contactos y la investigación de casos están en marcha, y los contactos cercanos de estas personas son remitidos para pruebas. Entre estos nuevos casos se encuentra un grupo relacionado con una reunión de la iglesia en la isla.

Este incidente debe servir como un recordatorio a la comunidad para evitar grandes reuniones y siempre use un cubre bocas cuando esté en público cuando no sea posible el distanciamiento físico. (more…)