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…)

(May 26, 2017) Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced today that Joel J. Hass, MD, will join the hospital’s medical staff as a full-time, year-round primary care physician in June 2017.

Dr. Hass, who signed a five-year commitment with the hospital and has purchased a home on the island, will open his practice at Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s office at 4 Bartlett Road in late June before eventually moving into the new hospital building when it is completed in 2018. His practice will be open to new patients of all ages, and Dr. Hass is looking forward to welcoming families and seeing island pediatric patients for their ongoing medical care.

“As the complexity of healthcare continues to grow and access to primary care continues to burden Nantucket, I am eager to do my part to help island residents get the care they need,” said Dr. Hass.  “A healthy partnership between patient and physician will allow patients to gain the most out of the healthcare system. I believe my 25 years of experience practicing medicine will help me to serve the needs of this great island.”

Dr. Hass will join the primary care group practice at Nantucket Cottage Hospital that includes Drs. Kristy Acosta, George Butterworth, Mimi Koehm, and Diane Pearl. His hiring demonstrates Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s continuing efforts to provide the island community with a full complement of physicians of varying specialties, and options for primary care.

“Dr. Hass shares our commitment to meeting the primary care needs of the island and we hope the community will join the hospital in giving him a warm welcome to Nantucket,” said Dr. Margot Hartmann, President and CEO of Nantucket Cottage Hospital. “His background in successful family medicine practices and familiarity with the Cape and Islands area make him a good fit for our community, at a time when the Nantucket population continues to grow and the need for primary care has never been greater.”

Dr. Hass was previously affiliated with the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and most recently operated Hass Family Medicine in Sandwich, Mass. He is fully certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, and is a graduate of the Chicago Medical School.

To establish a primary care relationship with Dr. Hass, patients should call 508-825-0142 starting at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 5th. You may also register as a patient of Dr. Hass’ by clicking here. 

Dr. Hass is also hosting informal meet-and-greet sessions across the island for patients who wish to meet him in-person.

• Monday, June 5 from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. at the Handlebar Cafe, 15 Washington Street
• Tuesday, June 6 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Faregrounds Restaurant, 27 Fairgrounds Road
• Wednesday, June 7 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Cafe, 57 Prospect Street
• Thursday, June 8 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Saltmarsh Senior Center, 81 Washington Street

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…)

Every year, the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Foundation publishes its annual Report to Our Donors to celebrate, highlight, and thank our donors and volunteers. This report is filled with the names of people who recognize that life as we know it on Nantucket wouldn’t be the same without a hospital that meets the needs of a thriving year-round community. It’s one of the ways we acknowledge the hundreds of men, women and children who generously share with us their talents and treasures as volunteers, donors and staff. Read the full report.