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…)

Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy Associates of Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced today that it has added pediatric occupational therapy and speech therapy to the broad range of services it provides to the island community.

These new outpatient services will be available by appointment at Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy Associates of NCH’s facility in Bayberry Court, within a mile of the main hospital campus. The new staff members who will be working with pediatric patients in these areas include: (more…)

The annual enrollment and change period for Medicare’s Part D Prescription drug plans begins Oct. 15th and runs through December 7th.

To get Medicare prescription drug coverage, you must be enrolled in, or join a plan run by an insurance company or other private company approved by Medicare. Each plan can vary in cost and drugs covered. Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s Social Services Department provides one-on-one consultations for those Medicare recipients who wish to enroll or review their current prescription plan. Due to the fact that plans can change yearly, NCH Social Services Manager Peter MacKay advises island residents to look over their plans on an annual basis to ensure it is the best option to meet their needs. (more…)