Hospital may become affiliate of Mass General
BY MARY LANCASTER
This Friday, Nantucket Cottage Hospital will file an application with the Department of Public Health relating to a potential affiliation arrangement with Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare System, an action also being undertaken by the rural Martha's Vineyard Hospital.

The application is for a determination of need in order to alter Cottage Hospital's corporate control so that its sole corporate member is Mass General with a 20 percent representation on the NCH board. The action is being taken with the understanding that the local hospital would retain its autonomy while benefitting from expanded clinical services.

The three hospital boards of trustees last week voted to sign agreements outlining preliminary terms of the affiliations and have begun a fact-finding period which may extend through the rest of the year.

"I can't minimize the fact that we are going into this due diligence," said Chuck Gifford, the community relations and development director for NCH. "This will give us the opportunity to talk to other hospitals in the partnership and make sure local control is what happens."

In order for the affiliations to become final they must be approved by the state Department of Health. Any 10 residents within the hospital's service area may request a public hearing on the application within 20 days of Friday's filing. Written comments may also be submitted to DPH within the same schedule.

Clinical benefits for NCH include specialty services unavailable on Nantucket to address complex medical issues. Patients, through the affiliation, would gain a direct connection to Mass General caregivers and service programs. The hospitals would also share electronic medical records. Beyond the medical side, Mass General and Partners HealthCare would contribute $5 million to each island hospital for capital needs.

Mass General, founded in 1811, runs the largest research program of any U.S. hospital with an annual budget of $500 million. Partners HealthCare was founded by Mass General and Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1994. The non-profit organization has a care system including the two hospital medical centers, community hospitals, specialty facilities, community health centers and primary and specialty physicians.

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