Healey Commends Hospital During Island Visit

Gov. Maura Healey visited the Vineyard on Monday to tour a new housing complex for Martha’s Vineyard Hospital employees and check in on the Island’s health care needs.

The governor kicked off her Island visit with a stop at the hospital’s new apartments at the Navigator Homes nursing facility in Edgartown. While touring an apartment, she praised the 48 units of housing that will be designated for hospital and nursing home staff.

“This project represents everything we need to be doing in the state,” Governor Healey said.

Governor Healey’s visit is ahead of the ribbon cutting on June 20, after which eligible hospital staff will be selected by a lottery system operated by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority. About $30 million was raised for the project from 80 private donors.

Navigator Homes, which will provide skilled nursing and rehabilitation care for up to 66 patients, is scheduled to open in December.

Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is the largest employer on the Island, but Denise Schepici, the hospital’s president and COO, said her staff doesn’t qualify for affordable housing and has to pay high market rates.

The Island has been enduring a housing crisis for years, and Governor Healey said finding ways to ease the pain is at the top of her priority list.

“It affects [the hospital’s] ability to recruit and retain a workforce, and that is bad, because if we don’t have a workforce in our hospitals, we don’t have health care,” she said. “If we don’t have health care, we don’t have a safe community and a safe Island.”

The hospital housing and Navigator Homes neighborhood is an example of a strong partnership between a private employer, supporters and local government, according to the governor. She also commended the project for the 13 acres of preserved conservation land.

State Sen. Julian Cyr and state Rep. Thomas Moakley, the Island’s representatives on Beacon Hill, accompanied the governor on the tour.

“[The project] just goes to show that the Commonwealth cares about older adults being able to age in their own communities,” Mr. Moakley said.

“No challenge is greater, steeper and more urgent for Islanders and Cape Codders than housing,” Mr. Cyr added.

After the tour, Governor Healey walked through the hospital shaking hands with doctors, nurses and administrators in the acute care unit, emergency room and maternity floor.

She then joined hospital executives for a round table, where the group discussed how the hospital is fairing on community outreach and accessibility.

Governor Healey asked about the primary care waitlist. Claire Seguin, the chief nurse and vice president of operations, said it’s an area where the hospital struggles and the list is around 1,100 people.

Ms. Seguin said many hospital employees are retiring and the housing crisis dissuades workers from moving to the Island, making it difficult to keep the waitlist down. She said the hospital opened a primary care extension clinic within the past year to help.

The hospital is focusing on its pipeline program, where they train high school students in hopes that they’ll pursue health careers and return to work at the hospital. Ms. Seguin also highlighted the hospital’s accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, which launched in Jan. 2024. The program enables the hospital to train six nurses, without prior experience, over the course of two years which helps stabilize hospital staffing and further retention.

The governor’s visit also highlighted some concerns for the hospital. Governor Healey asked how the hospital is preparing for the potential passing of President Donald Trump administration’s “big beautiful bill” that would significantly reduce Medicaid spending.

Ms. Schepici said 80 per cent of their patient population is relient on Medicare and Medicaid.

“We’re pretty frightened about [the bill] because that will trickle down very quickly,” Ms. Schepici said.

Governor Healey called the bill an “abomination” and said she is speaking out against cuts to health care and health-related research. She said the Martha’s Vineyard hospital staff is a resilient group and that she is working to help.

“We’re just going to have to work together and as a team,” she said. “I think we have a way to do that: business, philanthropy, government – state and local – working together. We just need to do that more than ever. I’m confident we can.”