(March 10, 2020) In light of the growing concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), Nantucket Cottage Hospital has made the difficult decision to cancel the Be Well Kids Health Fair on March 22.

This decision was made following guidance received over the weekend from emergency preparedness and clinical leaders at Partners Healthcare regarding the hosting of events or conferences of any size in the hospital in light of the growing number of COVID cases in Massachusetts. While there are currently no cases on Nantucket, we are cancelling the health fair in accordance with that guidance to mitigate the potential risk of such large gatherings.

We want to thank the volunteers of the NCH Pediatric Patient & Family Advisory Council for all the work they have done over the last six months to prepare for the health fair, along with NCH staff members and our community partners who were planning to participate. We anticipate bringing the event back to the hospital as soon as it is reasonable and safe to do so.

While this was a difficult decision, we feel strongly that it is an appropriate precaution to protect the health of our community, patients and visitors.