CELEBRATING NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL'S
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Joanne Bushong, Carrie Fisher and Nancy Lucchini
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This month we will recognize and celebrate
our Nurse Practitioners during National Nurse
Practitioner Week (Nov. 10-16). Nantucket
Cottage Hospital's eight nurse practitioners
play a critically important role in delivering
patient-centered care on the island, and are
among 171,000 nurse practitioners (NPs)
nationwide.
These licensed clinicians are registered
nurses who have advanced education (most
have a master's degree and many have
doctorate degrees) and provide primary, acute
and specialty health care services to our
patients. They are vital in meeting the medical
needs of island residents, and have a growing
role in the national health care system.
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Laura Kohtio-Graves
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Nantucket Cottage Hospital's dedicated NPs include:
- Joanne Bushong, RN, MSN, NP-C
- Eileen Carlsen, FNP-BC
- Mollie Finkel, RN, MSN, WHNP-BC
- Carrie Fisher, NP
- Jane Kelly, APRN-BC
- Laura Kohtio-Graves, RN, MSN, ANP-GNP-BC
- Nancy Lucchini, MSN, APRN-BC
- Cathy McDowell, FNP-BC
NP Mollie Finkel specializes in women's health, focusing
on all stages of their lives from adolescence and care
surrounding puberty, through development and sexual
health, to the perimenopause/menopause/postmenopausal stage. She administers many procedures including intrauterine
device placements, Pap screens, Endometrial and other GYN biopsies.
"There are many things that I love about being an NP, but I would say the most rewarding is connecting with a patient and fostering a level of trust in which they feel safe to discuss private concerns," Finkel said." Many women experience menopause or sexually-related concerns in silence, and providing them with a place to address and ideally, resolve those issues, is incredibly rewarding. Watching a patient improve is a wonderful thing...Our focus of training stems from the nursing model of education which is largely preventative medicine i.e. health promotion and disease prevention of children and their families."
DID YOU KNOW ...
- NPs are licensed and can prescribe medicine in all 50 states.
- NPs provide a full range of services such as ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests; diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions and managing overall patient care.
- Patients whose primary care providers are NPs have fewer emergency room visits and shorter hospital stays, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs.
- More than 14,000 graduates were trained as NPs during the 2011-12 school year.
- 60 percent of NPs see three to four patients per hour; seven percent see more than five patients per hour.
*Information from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
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HOSPITAL AWARDED $50,000 GRANT FROM THE HILLIARD FAMILY FOUNDATION
Nantucket Cottage Hospital has been awarded a $50,000 grant from The Hilliard Family Foundation that will fund a major upgrade to our Pulmonary Function Lab.
The grant will bring the Pulmonary Function Lab to full capacity with the acquisition of equipment that will allow for key pulmonary tests to rapidly diagnose, treat and monitor lung diseases on the island.
Specifically, the $50,000 will be used to acquire a new spirometry system that will replace a unit that is 15-years-old, and has limited testing capabilities. The new system will mean Nantucket Cottage Hospital can offer a full-range of pulmonary tests, including lung volume and diffusion capacity, allowing patients to remain on-island rather than having to travel to the mainland. The upgrade will expand the hospital's ability to determine the best diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.
"It's a wonderful advance and aid in the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases," said Nantucket Cottage Hospital's Dr. Jock Lawrason, primary care physician and the hospital's Chief Medical Officer, who specializes in pulmonary medicine. "Patients will no longer have to leave the island to get this testing."
The new equipment will assist in the diagnosis of emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and will be capable of determining the cause of shortness of breath or excessive coughing in patients. It will also give current and former smokers an assessment of their lung function.
The Hilliard Family Foundation has been active in philanthropy around Maryland, bestowing grants to libraries as well as the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. Members of the Hilliard family have had a presence on Nantucket over four generations. Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison, who is co-trustee of the Foundation with her son Jeff Morrison, has spent summers on the island throughout her life, and worked as a waitress at Jetties Beach in her teenage years. She is the great-granddaughter of Robert Cochran Hilliard, a prominent stage actor who owned a compound in Sconset. Morrison's aunt, Grace Powell Hilliard, owned a home on Judith Chase Lane on Nantucket. She was an artist who attended the Maryland Institute of Art and an accomplished pilot who flew with the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) during World War II. Grace Powell Hilliard grew fond of Nantucket Cottage Hospital after being treated for a heart attack at the old hospital building on West Chester Street.
"She had been sympathetic to the cottage hospital on Nantucket and the care she received there," Elizabeth Morrison said of her aunt. "I'm delighted to have the opportunity to award this grant."
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THIS IS MY HOSPITAL
In the coming weeks, you will see a series of advertisements in The Inquirer and Mirror and elsewhere featuring testimonials from island residents that demonstrate the need for a new hospital. Nantucket High School principal John Buckey was among the community members who assisted with this aspect of the campaign. The following are Buckey's comments that will appear in the first ad of this series:
| John Buckey |
John Buckey
Nantucket High School
"As a high school principal, I encounter
450 reasons everyday why we need a new
hospital on Nantucket. The safety and wellbeing
of our children speaks for itself. Whether it's
treating an injury on the field or an accident in
the lab, we need to have access to quality care."
LET'S BUILD IT TOGETHER.
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CELEBRATING PASCON DURING NATIONAL PALLIATIVE & SUPPORTIVE CARE MONTH
November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the importance of quality care for hospice patients and their families. At Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket (PASCON), is a specialized healthcare program that provides physical, emotional, social and spiritual care to people facing any stage of a life-threatening illness, as well as support for their families. Island patients are provided with compassionate and skillful care by PASCON's interdisciplinary team, under the direction of the patient's physician, as well as bereavement care for the family for a year when a patient dies. In her own words, Nancy Burns-Fusaro recently described the value of the PASCON program for her family:
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Marilyn Burns
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"My sisters and I will be forever grateful to the
extraordinary staff of Palliative & Supportive Care of
Nantucket for the support, care and guidance we
received throughout my mother's three-year illness.
From the very beginning of our journey - that day in
November of 2010 when we first heard her diagnosis
of ovarian cancer - through to this very day, months
after her passing -- the folks at Palliative & Supportive
Care have been beside us, helping us to cope with
the reality of death and dying, while teaching us how
to cherish and appreciate the beauty of the experience. We are comforted by the knowledge that our beloved mother received the best care possible thanks to
PASCON -- from the early stages of her illness, through the sometimes arduous back and forth travel to Boston for treatment, to her peaceful passing at home. Our lives were enriched deeply and my mom's last years enhanced immeasurably thanks to the wisdom, comfort, kindness and love that was so freely showered upon us by Tim Lepore, Charlene Thurston, Ginnie Faria and Nan Strelnitski."
- Nancy Burns-Fusaro, November 2013
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Nancy Burns-Fusaro with family and friends
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| The original Cottage Hospital, located in three cottages on West Chester Street |
NCH TURNS 102
On November 17, 1911, the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
legally established Nantucket Cottage
Hospital as a corporation.
Conceived by the visions of Dr. John
Grouard and Dr. Benjamin Sharp, Nantucket
Cottage Hospital was initially located in three
cottages in downtown Nantucket. The
hospital expanded to its current location
on Prospect Street in 1957.
| Medical staff load an ambulance in front of the original hospital on West Chester Street
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Photos courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association
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NEWS BRIEFS
- BREAST CANCER LECTURE:
Dr. Richard T. Penson (pictured), the Clinical Director for the Massachusetts General Hospital Oncology/Hematology Service at NCH joined Nurse Practitioner Jane Kelly on Nantucket on October 28 for a lunchtime lecture entitled "Breast Cancer: What You Should Know." Penson and Kelly discussed in human terms the most pertinent information regarding diagnosis and treatment, as well as the latest research.
- MAMMOGRAPHY CLINIC: Nineteen island women received free mammograms during a screening clinic on Wednesday October 26. The service was made possible through the generous support of the Peter M. Sacerdote Family.
- BUILDING OUR FUTURE, COMMITTED TO CARE: Nantucket Cottage Hospital is pleased to unveil a new web site that will be the primary online destination for those seeking answers and information about the need for a new facility. From preliminary floor plans to testimonials from island residents, financial information and a clear synopsis of why this facility is so critical for the island community, the new web site is intended to share a wealth of information about the hospital's ongoing efforts and future plans. Additional information and further updates to be posted as we proceed. Visit the new site: nantuckethospital.org/newbuilding.
- OUR NEW HOSPITAL, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Come learn about the need for a new healthcare facility on Nantucket during a public forum on Monday, November 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Police Station on Fairgrounds Road. Hospital and community leaders will outline the vision for a new facility and be available to answer your questions.
- HOSPITAL CO-SPONSORS PUBLIC FLU CLINIC: During a public flu clinic sponsored by Nantucket Cottage Hospital and the Town of Nantucket on October 26, 187 people received flu shots. Among them was Jim Lentowski (pictured), the executive director of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
- ORAL HEALTH DISCUSSION:
Join Nantucket Cottage Hospital and the Rotary Club of Nantucket to discuss Nantucket's Oral Health Program on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Police Station at 4 Fairgrounds Road.
- BARIATRIC SUPPORT GROUP: In conjunction with Tobey Hospital, Nantucket Cottage Hospital is hosting a monthly support group sessions for bariatric patients. Participants on Nantucket are linked to other bariatric patients convening at Tobey Hospital during each meeting by a telecommunications link. The support group meets on the first Monday of every month in the Dorm Building. The Nov. 4 meeting will convene at 7:15 p.m. and the topic is "Mindful Eating at the Holidays." For more information contact Wendy Hilts at 825-8270.
- TRUSTEE DICK THOMSON'S BOOK BENEFITS NCH: Nantucket Cottage Hospital Trustee Richard Thomson's new book "The Pier Group," has been released and Thomson is donating 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the book to the capital campaign for the new hospital. "The Pier Group" is a murder-mystery based on Nantucket, and tells the tale of Zack Finn, an ex-Navy SEAL and Boston Homicide Detective. Forced to take a medical leave due to years of burnout, Finn chooses to recuperate on Nantucket. When his friend and fellow Navy SEAL becomes the suspect in a brutal murder on the island, Finn seeks the aid of an historic Nantucket social club, the Pier Group, to probe areas conventional law enforcement officers have difficulty in penetrating.
SUPPORT THE NCH FUND
The NCH Fund provides the annual support our island hospital needs
to advance the health and wellbeing of all Nantucketers.
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57 Prospect Street, Nantucket, MA 02554 | 508-825-8100 | NantucketHospital.org
Nantucket Cottage Hospital is an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of Partners HealthCare
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