By Denise Coffey / The Cape Cod Times (full story here)

The island’s first baby of the new year — and the new decade — is Bella Fix.

Bella made her entrance into the world at 2:02 p.m. Friday at Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

The daughter of Nicko and Amy Fix, Bella has brown eyes; weighs six pounds, three ounces; and measures 18 inches.

Bella’s arrival was something of a surprise. Her mom went for a scheduled ultrasound Friday morning, and she was born four hours later.

“My wife and I were both surprised,” Nicko said, noting that Bella was due on Jan. 18 but doctors felt it was better to do a C-section. “It’s awesome. Everyone was great.”

Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket (PASCON) is moving to the Anderson Building on the Nantucket Cottage Hospital campus from its current location at Sherburne Commons.

The PASCON office at Sherburne Commons will close at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18^th, and will reopen in the Anderson Building, at the former location of Dr. George Butterworth’s practice, at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 23^rd.

We’re happy to announce that on Monday, Nov. 25th, both the main entrance and physician clinics entrance, as well as a portion of the new parking area at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, will be opened for patient access.

Patient parking will be available at the Emergency Department off Prospect Street and the newly paved portion of the main parking lot accessible from the new Prospect Street driveway, as well as the existing parking area off Vesper Lane. With these changes and additional parking spaces, the complimentary valet parking service at the Emergency Department entrance will cease, effective at the end of the day today, Friday Nov. 22nd.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced Wednesday that it has awarded $381,500 in grant funding to 13 non-profit agencies and other local organizations through its Community Health Initiative, which seeks to address the island’s most pressing health issues through collaborative, innovative, and sustainable programs. 

Capping off its 90^th year in business, The Hospital Thrift Shop on Tuesday set a new record by making its largest ever annual gift to Nantucket Cottage Hospital with a $500,000 donation that will be used to acquire new medical equipment, including the future purchase of a new MRI machine, to enhance patient care at NCH.

The members of the Hospital Thrift Shop Board of Directors presented the check to Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s interim president and CEO Jeanette Ives Erickson Tuesday morning following the conclusion of a busy and successful season in business on India Street. In addition to its gift to NCH, the Hospital Thrift Shop made a separate donation of $10,000 to Palliative & Supportive Care of Nantucket (PASCON) to help facilitate its move into a new office location. The two gifts mark the culmination of the Hospital Thrift Shop’s 90^th anniversary, as the non-profit organization continued to celebrate its impact through nine decades of supporting Nantucket’s hospital.