A message from Denise Schepici, President & CEO of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Windemere Nursing & Rehabilitation Center:

I wanted to clear up any confusion that may have been created by a letter the Chamber sent to the Vineyard Gazette yesterday.

I had agreed to sign on to the letter because I believed in the message, which was one focused on the safety of our community with a summer season headed our way.

I have already shared some of these thoughts with you - in a letter to both newspapers this past month and during our weekly media calls.

My message is simple – I believe strongly, and I know I speak for our hospital team, that the health and well-being of our community is our priority and always will be.

We have set out a plan at the hospital to protect our community as well as our teams of doctors and nurses and all our care providers who are working on the front lines fighting this insidious pandemic.

They are an important voice in our community conversation, and I will always do my best to represent them and their concerns, because they are my concerns.

As the Island’s hospital, we need to plan for the worst – that is our responsibility.

We are blessed to have the resources of MGH and Partners to support us and they are integral to our plan.

I have also spoken about the importance of our local summer economy – it is the lifeblood of our treasured island.

I want to be clear I believe any final decisions about the course we will take in the weeks and months ahead need to be made by our local town leaders and our local health agents.  I have appreciated the opportunity to join those conversations and I look forward to continuing them.

We have to work together now – and listen to all points of view – those in government, state and local, public safety, business and health care.

What happened yesterday with the Chamber’s letter is completely understandable – the intent was to offer guidance under the Governor’s current executive order which suggests any travelers to Martha’s Vineyard need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

That is the Governor’s order until May 18th.  We do not know what the Governor will propose after that, but one thing we can bet on – it will not be business as usual on May 19th.

I can understand the disruption any change to our normal summer plans will cause to our economy and our lifestyle.

We also took it one step further suggesting that travelers to the Island should bring 14 days of supplies, so they don’t have to stop at the supermarket when they get off the boat.

This is a simple courtesy – and the reason why – we want to do all we can to stop the spread of the virus.

Remember – we do not know who is asymptomatic.

That is why we always stress social distancing, travel only when necessary, when you go outside wear a mask.

The Governor is basing all his decisions on the data and the science.

His focus is on the number and trending of new positives in our state and our community.

And the number and trending of new hospitalizations of patients who are COVID-19 positive.

We are all looking at those numbers with him and we join him in his concerns.

As you have seen there has been a slight uptick in our numbers too.

Massachusetts has also been a focus of national health care leaders and the White House coronavirus task force.

We are far from out of the woods.

We need to make that message very clear.

And I hope the decisions we make as a community will be based on the data and the science.

We are blessed with so many health experts in our state – we need to have faith in what they are telling us.

Just yesterday Massachusetts saw another uptick in the numbers.

1,840 new cases Tuesday - the first time in five days the number increased.

Confirmed cases to date to 58,302.

And the death toll in the state has risen to more than 3,000 individuals – a life, a family member, a loved one.

The state trails only New York, New Jersey, and Michigan.

This is what weighs on us at the hospital.

This is what we want to make sure is part of any discussion about plans for our community.

When this is over – and we will find a vaccine – I hope we can look back at this time with pride and reflect on how we worked together – we considered the facts – we were smart, thoughtful and focused on safety and how best to take care of one another.

Thank you.

The hospital has updated this letter from an earlier version sent to the Gazette.