Islanders have long grappled with the health implications of living separated from mainland amenities, and hospital officials are eyeing ways to bolster accessibility to care in the place thousands call home.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced earlier this month the release of its “2025 Community Health Implementation Plan,” which lists health issues the organization wants to prioritize over the next three years. While some of the goals are long-term, others are already underway, such as more mental health providers and a new tick clinic.
Many of the goals align with the findings of an earlier report released in partnership with Island Health Care last fall called the “2025 Community Health Needs Assessment,” which relied on data and the surveys by Islanders. The report included qualms by Vineyard residents regarding access to care, mental health concerns in the off-season, fears regarding the rise in tick-borne diseases that induce meat allergies and harrowing symptoms, and concerning rates of substance use.
The plans by health officials point to a wide array of unmet needs of the local population, despite substantial efforts by existing and emerging medical care facilities. Traveling off-Island for care and specialty appointments has been a necessity for many Vineyarders, which is time-consuming and costly. The hospital said this makes reinforcing their services locally much more important, and pushes transportation efforts to the top of its list.
“In conjunction with the Mass General Brigham system, but here locally, we are committed to build a strong health system that meets the needs of our patients here, close to home,” Claire Seguin, president of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, told The Times.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital isn’t the only healthcare center on the Island, but it is the largest. The hospital’s implementation plan shows not only the organization’s goals but also Island-wide emerging health priorities. Seguin said of all the issues Islanders have faced in recent years, tick-borne illnesses and access to primary care are the top two that stand out to her.
“We learn something new each time,” Seguin said of the assessment and implementation plans, which have been conducted every three years since 2019. “And I’m really proud that we build some programs, but then we have this opportunity to say, ‘Oh, we’re not quite there yet. What else do we need to add to the portfolio?’”
Lyme disease, for example, is not new on the Island, and the hospital boasts some of the most up-to-date testing for the tick-borne illness, which is treatable. But the disease can lead to long-term health consequences if not diagnosed quickly enough. Additionally, the rise in alpha-gal, which gives people an allergy to mammalian products, and the abundance of ticks found on the Island, have been alarming for health officials. “It really has jumped up, to me, as a top priority,” Seguin said.
Seguin also confirmed Wednesday that the hospital purchased the Medical Office Building at 449 State Road, West Tisbury, which it plans to use, in part, as a tick clinic this summer as well as express care and ophthalmology and audiology services.
Efforts to combat the tick population have expanded through a new nonprofit, Tick Free MV. The group recently conducted a drone survey of deer, which are one of the top tick carriers. However, preventive measures are the most effective ways to combat the many tick-borne illnesses, and this spring, there has already been a surge of the small, parasitic arachnids.
The state recently deemed tick-borne illnesses a reportable health condition, which Seguin said could streamline information and solutions. But ticks and the diseases they transmit aren’t the only health issue locals have been facing.
Islanders are often required to travel for care, from emergency boat reservations to helicopter rides in the most dire of circumstances. Health access is an urgent need, both on and off the Island. The question Seguin said she and hospital leadership are asking is, “How do we get them access to that care?”
The hospital does provide some funding to GoGoGrandparent, a transportation program through Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard that transports Islanders over the age of 65 to and from medical appointments. But the implementation plan for the hospital includes more transportation goals to reach for, including expanded access to off-Island rides for appointments.
The transportation shortages are just one branch of a larger web of needs. The Community Health Needs Assessment pointed out that Dukes County is federally recognized as a health-professional shortage area. This means there’s not enough primary care, dental, or specialist providers for the population, which is about 20,000 strong in the off-season, but rises to nearly 100,000 in the summer.
According to the needs assessment, 21,061 year-round Islanders are a medically underserved population by similar metrics. While Martha’s Vineyard Medical and Island Health Care have stated goals of providing more primary care appointments, the hospital has had efforts underway for years as well. In 2025, The Times reported that there was a backlog of 1,500 on primary care waitlists at the hospital alone.
However, affordable housing and cost-of-living have historically been hurdles to the hiring of needed health providers. Many of the specialists and nurses at the hospital are hired with accommodations, such as commuting or living on the Vineyard for only a few months at a time.
And dental care from providers who take insurance is even more difficult to find for locals. There’s only one dental office that takes MassHealth, the most common health insurance plan for Vineyard residents who aren’t offered insurance through their jobs. That office reported extremely long waitlists shortly after opening in December 2024, as locals scrambled to make appointments that they previously had to travel off-Island for.
Seguin also said mental health and substance use, which have long been regarded as top concerns by local health officials, are under the umbrella of “primary care, as we also have a need — and a focus — on behavioral health and mental health.”
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has reportedly added a full-time psychiatrist and two social workers to its staff this year. Because of the Island’s separation from the mainland, the hospital often doubles as a crisis center for severe mental health episodes, especially if someone is referred off-Island for treatment.
Seguin said the hospital partners with Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, an organization that provides counseling, therapy, and psychiatry to Vineyarders, because of the overlap in mental health services.
“But it’s still not enough,” Seguin acknowledged.
While it’s not known if there’s been a rise in mental health crises on the Vineyard, The Times has reported on multiple public episodes in the past year. A man jumping from a Steamship Authority boat, and a Tisbury Select Board member who faced multiple charges, have been cited as mental health issues. And nationally, mental health conditions have been diagnosed more often in younger generations (ages 18 to 29).
Individuals struggling with substance use disorders, another longtime concern on the Vineyard, have services they can turn to such as the Red House Recovery Center, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. But the hospital handles cases of overdoses and medical emergencies related to drugs and alcohol.
The implementation plan highlights addressing alcohol use disorders and substance use treatment as big goals for the hospital moving forward, especially for what the hospital referred to as “special populations,” encompassing older adults, those with intellectual disabilities, and Brazilian residents of the Vineyard.
Concerted efforts to address mental health crises have occurred already, such as the introduction of the psychiatrist and social workers, but Seguin said there’s more to be done.
“Every life matters,” Seguin said. “I think especially on an Island — and we know the Cape and Islands in particular with our seasonality — we just have a lot of risk in that area.”