Fran Resendes lit the tree of lights on Wednesday.
A long-time friend of Martha's Vineyard Hospital and its
volunteers, Mrs. Resendes flicked the switch at dusk before a small
gathering, and hundreds of red and white lights lit the familiar 30-foot
tree at the entrance to the hospital. Anyone driving past this holiday
season has an opportunity to remember friends, both here and gone.
For members of the Island's Brazilian population, one of the
most frightening prospects is a visit to the hospital. Rather than a
lack of health insurance, what keeps many away is the fear of not being
understood.
Becoming a patient in a primary care physician's practice is
now almost impossible for Islanders and visitors, but medical personnel
are making an effort to alleviate the situation.
Primary physician practices, in the strictest sense, are closed to
new patients, leaving those in search of a doctor in limbo.
Tim Walsh, who became the Martha's Vineyard Hospital's
chief executive officer in August, said the lack of primary care
physicians is a problem.
Quoting legendary college basketball coach John Wooden and
expressing pride at his own accomplishments, Kevin Burchill, the
embattled chief executive officer at the Martha's Vineyard
Hospital, announced last weekend that he will resign.
\\\\\\\"This will offer the hospital the best possible options to
move forward - for everyone,\\\\\\\" Mr. Burchill said in a
prepared statement read at the outset of a community forum on hospital
affairs.
Trustees at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital scrambled to
contain the damage this week in the aftermath of last week's
announcement by a respected Vineyard surgeon that he will sever his
contract with the hospital.
Martha's Vineyard Hospital leaders told the Oak Bluffs
selectmen Tuesday they are confident in their fund-raising abilities and
plan to begin the permitting process for the $42 million hospital
building project soon.
Emergency Responders Report Moped Accidents Down Again
By BRIEN HEFLER
Moped accidents were down again on the Vineyard this summer, and
emergency responders cite better public safety education as a possible
factor.
Preliminary numbers compiled by the four ambulance departments on
the Island show that the departments responded to an average number of
calls during the summer months, with a slight increase in the
down-Island departments.
But across the board the number of moped accidents saw a significant
drop.
Trustees at the Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket hospitals this week announced their intention to join Massachusetts General Hospital and its parent company, Partners Health Care, as affiliates by the end of the year.
Just seven weeks after announcing their intention to negotiate an
affiliation with the giant Partners Health group, Martha's
Vineyard hospital trustees voted unanimously to approve the landmark
sale agreement on Saturday.
As summer moves into high gear on the Island, the Martha's Vineyard Hospital will launch the final push to raise the rest of the money for the construction of a new building.
Hospital chief executive officer Timothy Walsh said the building campaign has raised about $33 million of the $42 million required to rebuild the hospital at its Linton Lane campus in the Eastville section of Oak Bluffs.
