Consistent with Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s commitment to help prevent potential community spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), we are implementing visitor restrictions for the protection of our patients, visitors and workforce. To continue providing the safest care environment, temporary updates to our visitor policies have been made:

• Limit of one visitor per patient for both inpatient and ambulatory care
  • This includes all hospital, physician clinic, and emergency department visits
• Visitors may be screened for flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough or sore throat. Any visitor with obvious signs of illness will be asked to kindly leave.
• No visitors under the age of 18 will be allowed during this time, since young people are potential infectors without necessarily being ill themselves.
• Care teams will make exceptions in specific circumstances such as:
  • End-of-life care
  • Two parents or guardians for each pediatric patient
  • Two visitors for each labor and delivery patient
  • Disruptive behavior patients
• We are discontinuing all public use of our conference rooms effective immediately until future notice. This includes cancelling events open to the public and community groups.
• The NCH cafeteria will be closed to the public and will serve employees only with ID badges

The growing spread of COVID-19 has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for many people, including children and teens. As parents and caregivers, it can be difficult to talk with your kids about this global pandemic and address their concerns. In this video, Gene Beresin, MD, executive director of the MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, offers helpful tips about how to engage with children of all ages to support and maintain emotional stability during this evolving situation.

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.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is closely monitoring the outbreak caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and working closely with local, state, and federal health officials, along with infection control and emergency management professionals across the Partners Healthcare system.

Local Risk Remains Low

As of February 28, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports there has been one confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in Massachusetts. The risk to residents in Massachusetts remains low.

Testing

As of February 28, Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory received approval to begin testing patients for COVID-19, in accordance with guidance from the CDC. Clinicians who have patients they think may have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 who meet the current CDC definition of a Person Under Investigation can contact DPH to discuss their patients and receive authorization to submit specimens for testing. Testing at the State Public Health Laboratory will speed up obtaining test results for Persons Under Investigation and expedite ongoing testing of any confirmed case in recovery. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning this week about the potential for spread of novel coronavirus illness, COVID-19, in the United States. This was not unexpected, and the NCH infection control and emergency preparedness teams have been preparing for this possibility since we first learned of the outbreak in China. The outbreak has been continuing with rapidly increasing case counts in a growing number of countries. As part of the announcement this week, the CDC also broadened its highest level of travel advisory to include South Korea in addition to China.