Vote Yes On Article 11 To Continue The OIH Staff's Diamond In The Rough Care

To the editor: Please vote Yes on Article 11 at the May 4th Town Meeting to rebuild Our Island Home (OIH). The town leaders have given us one last chance to vote YES for the new facility at Sherburne Commons.

Newer terminology for a ‘nursing home’ is ‘post-acute care’. What does that mean? Post-acute care is skilled medical care provided in a facility after discharge from a hospital. It is usually a short stay to improve your functional skills to safely return home. Post-acute care programs (skilled nursing and rehabilitation) are combined under the same roof with long term care.

Nantucket has a new state-of-the-art acute care Hospital and an extremely outdated post-acute facility (OIH) that does not meet current state codes. The new Our Island Home at Sherburne Commons will be a skilled nursing facility, a rehabilitation facility, long-term care and in-patient hospice care. Now that Cottage Hospital is Acute Stroke Ready and Orhopedic surgery is doing joint replacements, many of those patients will be served by OIH for their rehabilitation with multidisciplinary therapies and skilled nursing.

When my dad needed rehab 20 years ago for a hip fracture, he was sent to Mass General in Boston and then Rhode Island for post-acute rehabilitation. Another time a spine infection sent him off to a hospital for neurosurgery care in my medical community (Ann Arbor, MI) and then to another rehabilitation facility. Both episodes were expensive and exhausting for Dad and the family. I know that many families in our community have similar stories. We now have all the necessary health care services for the continuum of care on island, but we need to rebuild the OIH - It is now or never!

For 30 years as a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician, I have worked with many post-acute facilities around the country. OIH is truly a “diamond in the rough.” The patient centered care is excellent and the love and support of family by the entire staff is awesome. As a family member of an OIH resident, a volunteer, and a semi-retired rehab doctor – I can tell you that the staff, administration, and the therapy services are all outstanding! Please go to the websites of Our Island Home and the Friends of Our Island Home and visit the facility for a personal tour.

Is the price tag high? Absolutely! Building a healthcare facility to current state code is very expensive. A Capital Fundraising Campaign is in development. Once we vote YES on Article 11, the campaign can start taking donations to mitigate the cost to the town and taxpayers.

Thank you for your support in advance of May 4^th - VOTE YES on Article 11

Jennifer Doble, MD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Brain Injury Medicine
FOOIH Board Member