Clarifying Two Persistent Misconceptions About Building A New Our Island Home

To the editor: There are two persistent misconceptions about building a new Our Island Home that deserve clarification.

I have followed and participated in this discussion since 2012, although the need to replace or upgrade Our Island Home was first identified in 2008. Setting emotions aside, these two facts should be clear.

First: Why can’t we just renovate or replace Our Island Home on the current site?

There was never a $45 million option to renovate the existing facility, despite repeated claims on social media. Multiple building and systems assessments over the years confirmed that the current building cannot be reasonably renovated and must be replaced. The Town’s 2019 Design and Feasibility Study outlines the full extent of the options considered. A single-story, medical-model facility, as currently designed, would never fit on the Harborview site.

Second: Why doesn’t a nonprofit step in and get the Town out of the nursing home business?

The answer is land. In the decades since this need was identified, available land on Nantucket that would be appropriate in size and zoning has disappeared—either committed to other municipal uses, conservation, or private development.

Martha’s Vineyard was able to move forward because Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, owned by Massachusetts General Brigham, gifted 26 acres to Navigator Homes, allowing them to proceed as a 501(c)(3). What would 26 acres on Nantucket cost today? Far beyond the reach of any nonprofit before construction even begins.

Nantucket needs a medical-model skilled nursing facility, not wishful thinking. Expecting a nonprofit to recreate the Navigator Homes concept here for less than the actual cost of land and construction is simply unrealistic.

Please vote YES on Article 11 at Town Meeting May 4th. Please be there for the 4:30 start as this Article will be the first discussed.

Thank you for being a voter.

Alison K. Forsgren
Friends of Our Island Home