A concerned citizen group launched a community survey this week to gauge public opinion about an array of issues at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, including the ongoing request for an open meeting between trustees and the public.

Last week, interim hospital president and chief executive officer Timothy Walsh said trustees cannot hold a public meeting while the severance agreement remains unsettled with Joseph Woodin, the CEO and president who was fired in early June.

“The hospital keeps saying we can’t talk, we will do it down the road,” said Victor Capoccia, who co-chairs the citizen group with Sheila Shapiro. “But I would say very clearly that if we were part of a meeting we could structure it in a way that did not get into personnel issues.”

The brief survey is available online and also appears in print as paid advertisements in both Island newspapers this week.

Mr. Capoccia said the goal of the survey is simple: “To determine the interest among Island residents [in hospital affairs] . . . they are thinking about criteria for a new CEO, about new ways the hospital could be involved in the community, and about membership and configuration of the board. These are things where they need to hear from people,” he said. “They [hospital trustees] are doing things. We just don’t know what they are.”

Mr. Capoccia expressed exasperation at the repeated claims by hospital trustees that they cannot speak publicly due to legal constraints in the aftermath of Mr. Woodin’s firing.

“That is not our issue and we don’t understand why that is consistently used to block all conversation,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to us. We understand legal issues need to be kept that way. We can stay away from that issue and deal with other important issues.”

In a press release the citizen group said:

“This survey is your opportunity to let the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital board of directors and its sole member parent organization Mass General Hospital know what you expect from our hospital. Do you expect the board to refresh itself? Do you expect the hospital to share information about its financial status? Do you expect the hospital to be involved in promoting health on the Island? Will you attend a meeting to exchange ideas with the hospital?”

Mr. Capoccia said the survey will run for a week or two, and results will be made public shortly thereafter.

“To model and demonstrate the kind of communication we expect the hospital to be able to do — we will report back to the community and determine the next steps,” he said.