The Hospital Thrift Shop has done it again. Continuing its 88-year tradition of generosity, the Thrift Shop announced today a $381,500 gift to Nantucket Cottage Hospital following another successful season on India Street.

The board members of the Thrift Shop presented Nantucket Cottage Hospital president and CEO Dr. Margot Hartmann with a check last week in the amount of $331,500, which has been earmarked for new medical equipment that will improve patient care in nearly every department of the hospital. Another $50,000 will be committed to the Thrift Shop’s pledge of $500,000 for the construction of the new hospital.

“We’re so pleased to once again help our community hospital fulfil its mission to patients, while also supporting its vision for the future in a new building,” said Cathy Ward, the outgoing President of the Thrift Shop’s Board of Directors. “It’s important to remember that this gift is made possible by the island community, which gives so generously to the Thrift Shop throughout the year, along with our loyal shoppers and hardworking staff and volunteers.” (more…)

Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced today on National Rural Health Day that it has been recognized by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and The Chartis Center for Rural Health/iVantage Health Analytics for overall excellence in outcomes and patient satisfaction, reflecting top quartile performance among all rural hospitals in the nation.

“Our island community can be proud of the clinicians and staff of Nantucket Cottage Hospital who have earned this well-deserved recognition by consistently putting our patient first and providing compassionate care,” said Dr. Margot Hartmann, president and CEO of Nantucket Cottage Hospital. “The quality of our outcomes and the experience we provide our patients are two of the most important assessments of our performance as a hospital, so it is gratifying to see the efforts of our staff honored at a national level.”

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is one of only two rural hospitals in Massachusetts to be recognized by NOSORH for excellence in patient outcomes, joining Fairview Hospital in earning this distinction. Only three Massachusetts hospitals – Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Fairview Hospital, and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital – were recognized for excellence in patient satisfaction. (more…)

Nantucket Cottage Hospital and island physician Joel Hass have founded a new clinical education program that aims to expand access, provide educational opportunities, and bolster the recruitment of new clinicians to Nantucket.

The Nantucket Cottage Hospital Advanced Practice Clinician Education Program will partner with the MGH Institute of Health Professions, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, to bring physician assistant students to the island who will work under the supervision of Dr. Hass in his outpatient practice.

“Nantucket Cottage Hospital is committed to expanding access, and one way to do that is through a commitment to education,” Dr. Hass said. “We want to expose future clinicians to Nantucket and give them a sense of what it’s like to practice in a remote island setting.” (more…)

Thanks to Nicole Harnishfeger of The Inquirer and Mirror for capturing this great video of staff and community members signing the final steel beam that was added to the new hospital on Oct. 6th!

Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced today that John F. D’Avella, MD, FASN, has joined the hospital’s medical staff as an internal medicine physician.

Dr. D’Avella is moving to the island and joining NCH following a distinguished career in Connecticut, where he was a physician at Hartford Hospital for more than 30 years, with an extensive background in nephrology and dialysis. He and his wife Denise own a home on Nantucket, and have visited the island for many years.

Dr. D’Avella will initially join Dr. Diane Pearl’s practice on a part-time basis, while also providing nephrology consults in the hospital’s medical/surgical unit and in the emergency department, and accepting referrals for patients with kidney issues, difficult to manage hypertension, diabetes, and kidney stones. (more…)