Nantucket Cottage Hospital will host a public flu shot clinic on Saturday, Nov. 7^th for island residents who have not yet received this year’s influenza vaccine from their primary care physician.

The flu clinic will be held in Room 105 at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, located on the first floor of the main building, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This clinic is intended for patients 18 and older who are unable to visit their primary care physician or island pharmacist, as well as those who do not have a local doctor. Families with teenagers and children under 18 years of age are encouraged to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician’s office to get vaccinated. (more…)

The open enrollment period for the Massachusetts Health Connector, the state-based health insurance marketplace, begins Nov. 1st and runs through Jan. 31st, 2016.

During open enrollment, individuals and families can change their current plan, and those who are uninsured can shop for and enroll in one of the plans offered through the Health Connector.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s Health Care Advocates in the Social Services Department, Maria Gutierrez (508-825-8256) and Kathy Butterworth (508-825-8387), are available to assist island residents with this process. Please call to schedule an appointment.  (more…)

The annual enrollment and change period for Medicare’s Part D Prescription drug plans is underway 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…)

Nantucket Cottage Hospital will host a new weekly gynecology clinic with Dr. David Elmer beginning Tuesday, October 27^th.

“I’m very excited about being able to provide this service on-island that had previously been unavailable, and saving people a trip over to the mainland,” Dr. Elmer said.

This new clinic will cover the full gamut of women’s health care, from regular gynecology exams to consultations for infertility, abnormal Pap smears, or menopausal issues.

Dr. Elmer is affiliated with Cape Cod Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He attended medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and completed his residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center. (more…)

One morning last year John Belash was standing at the bathroom sink of his Nantucket home when he suddenly fell backwards. The 84-year-old island resident didn’t know it immediately, but he was suffering from a stroke.

Rushed to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Belash has only a vague recollection of being on a gurney as he was taken to the hospital’s emergency department. His clearest memory is seeing a doctor on a television monitor consulting with the emergency room physicians at his side.

The doctor on the screen was a stroke specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who was communicating in real time with Belash’s doctors on the island through Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s tele-stroke program. The clinical team quickly diagnosed Belash’s condition as a stroke. (more…)