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.
The Vineyard Nursing Association has announced a plan to expand its services to include hospice care, directly competing with Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, a 28-year-old Island institution which operates solely on donations, unfettered by the constraints of insurance regulations.
Vineyard Nursing Association has applied to become a licensed hospice provider certified under Medicare.
After more than two years without primary care on the Island, a group of Vineyard veterans blasted the Veterans Administration and Partners Healthcare yesterday for failing to restore medical services that had been available on the Island for years. The veterans met with a team of national representatives from the American Legion in the hope that they will bring their message back to Capitol Hill.
