Happy Birthday, NCH!

by Sarah Teach

This year, the Nantucket Cottage Hospital has 100 candles on its birthday cake!  Back in 1911, Dr. John S. Grouard and Dr. Benjamin Sharp had a vision for transforming health care on Nantucket.  Nothing new is born without hard labor, and the Cottage Hospital is no different.  Nonetheless, the perseverance of the two visionary Nantucket doctors has paid off.  Their legacy lives on in the form of superior health care in our island hospital.

Though the NCH’s “official” birth date has already passed, when you’re 100, you get to celebrate all year long.  And for a hospital, what better of a birthday festivity than a Health Fair?  Thanks to the Peter M. Sacerdote Family’s generous sponsorship, this event is possible.

Everybody wants their friends to be at their birthday party.  That’s why the NCH’s Health Fair will include A Safe Place, Nantucket AIDS Network, Autism Speaks, Nantucket Family Planning, Oceanside Manual Therapy, Witte Wellness Center, Boston Med Flight and Nantucket Visiting Nurses Association.
In lieu of pounding piñatas and pinning tails on donkeys, the Hospital will hold birthday activities that include medical screenings and consultations, educational presentations, and some general health care services.

The Fair boasts a host of VIP guests, including leading cancer researcher Dr. Bruce Chabner, who will share promising cancer treatment news.  Also contributing will be an expert from the audiology field, Nantucket’s very own Dr. Timothy Lepore, and more.

The Health Fair will be held at the Hospital at 57 Prospect Street on May 7 from 8 am until 11 am.  For the minimal fee of $5, you can secure a spot on the guest list.  Just visit www.NantucketHospital.org and fill out the registration form.

The Hospital’s centennial year motto is, “Honor the past, celebrate the future.”  Even in its 100th year of existence, the NCH still holds fast to the principles upon which it was founded.  Happy hundredth to our stalwart island hospital!