Donning hard hats and carrying shovels, the Nantucket Cottage Hospital community came together on Saturday, July 1^st for the official groundbreaking ceremony for the island’s new hospital.

Hospital staff, Trustees, donors, and community members gathered at the construction site in the shadow of the current 1957 hospital to celebrate what will become one of the finest new community hospitals in the country. The ceremony represented an historic milestone for both Nantucket Cottage Hospital, as well as the island community at large. (more…)

Focusing on Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s campaign to build a new hospital, Milestones magazine is designed to provide an update on the project and celebrate the donors and volunteers who are making this historic initiative a reality. Published in June 2017, our fourth issue highlights Wendy and Eric Schmidt’s $5 million donation, plus we give readers a glimpse into what’s happened on the campus over the winter. Read the complete digital edition by clicking below:

Wendy and Eric Schmidt Pledge $5 Million to New Hospital

Sustaining and strengthening the Nantucket community to empower the future of the island is one of Wendy Schmidt’s many passions.

She and her husband, Eric, are engaged in philanthropy that encompasses issues as global as ocean health and renewable energy technologies, while also having an impact on a local level. Schmidt’s support for education, transportation, and community gathering places in downtown Nantucket includes a bookstore, bakery, culinary center, music center and community school and The Dreamland Theater. Wendy Schmidt’s team at ReMain Nantucket has worked since 2008 to foster ideas, investments and new initiatives that enhance the vitality of the island.

The Schmidts’ commitment to the island was further manifested with a $5 million pledge to Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s capital campaign for the new hospital.

“We’re talking about Nantucket’s one and only hospital,” Wendy Schmidt said. “The one that has had to serve generations of islanders and visitors as the cost of healthcare soared and as technology advanced rapidly, without many options for keeping up with the demand and remaining current. The need for a good solution for providing ongoing high level health care on the island has never been greater than it is now.”  (more…)

The capital campaign for Nantucket’s new hospital has received support from all corners of the island, including individuals, families, businesses, and our fellow non-profit organizations.
One major sector of Nantucket’s economy that stepped-up in a big way to support this historic initiative was the island’s real estate community.

In June 2016, former Nantucket Cottage Hospital Trustee and philanthropist Maureen Hackett issued a challenge to the island’s brokers, agents, and other members of the real estate sector. Hackett, who together with her family had already contributed a $6 million gift to the campaign, urged them to join her in supporting the effort. She emphasized that a new, first-class community hospital would not only benefit the health and wellbeing of Nantucket, but also directly impact the real estate industry as quality medical services are a major consideration for anyone interested in investing in a new home on the island.

“We all depend on this hospital. It is the safety net that takes care of us and makes life on this remote island possible,” Maureen Hackett said to the members of the real estate community who gathered during an event at The Dreamland Theater last June. “You are a key to our success, and this is an opportunity for you to give back. This island has given us all so much.” (more…)

Longtime island residents Sean and Alli Mitchell have a growing family. Over the past two years, the Mitchells have welcomed two healthy boys to their family – Thomas and Patrick – who joined them and their three dogs under one roof. Sean, a member of the Nantucket Fire Department, and Alli, a property manager, have become well acquainted with Nantucket Cottage Hospital during this time.

“I wasn’t someone who used the hospital too much in the past,” Alli said. “But now? You’d have to pry me off this island to have a baby anywhere else!”

Beyond their experiences at The Birthplace, the Mitchells know that their family and the community they love depend on Nantucket Cottage Hospital in so many ways. From routine check-ups with their children’s primary care physician, to visits to the Emergency Department or the Walk-In Care Service, the hospital has given them the confidence to build their lives on Nantucket. (more…)