In the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Margot Hartmann, president and CEO of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, and Jason Graziadei, public information officer, write about the unique challenges of keeping the hospital’s 24/7 emergency department open and fully staffed through the island’s seasonal population swings and in its remote geographic location. Read the full article by clicking here. 

Small community hospitals throughout the United States are facing threats including low volume, declining reimbursements, and staffing challenges. Nantucket Cottage Hospital, a 19-bed facility and one of the smallest hospitals in Massachusetts, must also navigate the complexity of operating on an island 30 miles offshore, where the year-round population of 15,000 swells to more than 60,000 during the summer months. There is no off-the-shelf staffing model that works in the clinical environment of our emergency department (ED). The ED provides care to more than 10,000 patients every year, but the majority of them present between Memorial Day and Columbus Day.