Joint School provides the calm before the surgery
Class is in session at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, and total joint replacement is the subject.
Welcome to Joint School.
No, you won’t have to take a test, and you won’t receive a grade, but you will...
Emergency Department uses pediatric training to stay sharp
Dr. Jeffrey Zack, a Martha’s Vineyard Hospital emergency department doctor, and Dan Friedrich, manager of respiratory therapy, huddled over an 18-month-old baby having difficulty breathing. The ambulance staff from Oak Bluffs had scant details...
Health Beat: Tick-borne diseases: We’re not out of the woods yet
Just because the heat of the summer is behind us, don’t let your guard down when it comes to protecting yourself against tick bites.
We’re not out of the woods just yet.
Traditionally, we think of...
Health Beat: A virtual care option for Islanders and visitors
With significantly more people on the Island during the summer, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Emergency Department can feel the pinch, resulting in long wait times for patients with minor injuries or ailments.
That’s why Martha’s...
Teenage vaping
According to the M.V. Youth Task Force (MVYTF), over half of Martha’s Vineyard high school students have tried vaping, and the figures increase every year. Theresa Manning of the MVYTF stated, “This whole thing...
Battling food insecurity
There are many misconceptions about food insecurity. “It’s not synonymous with starvation,” Kayte Morris, executive director of the Island Food Pantry, said. “It really comes down to not knowing how you’re going to fill...
MVH Profile: Dr Aletheia Donahue, primary care/internal medicine
What brought you to MVH, Dr. Donahue?
I have been coming to the Island for years, working here in various positions before I went to med school. I volunteered a few summers at Family Planning...
Getting the lead out
The Massachusetts Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Regulation (Lead Law) requires all children to be screened for lead poisoning multiple times through the age of three. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health...
MVH Profile: Dr. Sonya Stevens
Dr. Stevens, how long have you been practicing at MVH?
I moved to the Island permanently in 2014 and practiced off-Island for a year prior to joining MVH pediatrics in 2015. Prior to moving here,...
Profile: Dr. Elliot Dacher, founder of the Meditation and Mindfulness program
Dr. Dacher, what originally brought you to Martha’s Vineyard?
In the 1970s I moved to Boston to complete my internal medicine residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now known as Brigham and Women’s Hospital)....
Health and wellness
“Western medicine defines health as the absence of disease,” Dr. Elliott Dacher, founder of the Meditation and Mindfulness program, says. Regardless of whether you have a disease or not, wellness has come to mean...
MVH Profile: Marcela Pouliot, Physical Therapist
What brought you to MVH?
I first came to the Vineyard in 1995 as a PT student for an internship at Windemere. I spent 12 weeks here, and during that time I met my husband...
Sept. 23 is Falls Prevention Day
Statistics show that falls are a leading cause of injury for people age 65 and older. “A significant percentage of seniors have balance issues,” Marcela Pouliot, physical therapist at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, says, “Falling...
Putting tularemia on your radar
When people think of tick-borne illnesses, they most often think of Lyme disease, but there are other possibilities as well. While nowhere near as common as Lyme disease, tularemia is something that Islanders should...
MVH Profile: Merrie Beth Dodge, D.O., hospitalist at MVH
Merrie Beth, when did you come to MVH?
I was first hired as a seasonal hospitalist at MVH in the summer of 2008. Later, I was asked to be the first full-time year-round hospitalist.
How would...
TeleStroke
“Though strokes can and do occur to people of any age, the risk of stroke increases with advanced age,” Mike Spiro, nurse manager, ER at MVH, said. “Given our aging population on the Island,...
MVH Profile: Nancy Casucci, R.N.
Nancy, what is your role at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital?
I am an RN CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse) in the emergency room.
What brought you here originally?
I fell in love with the Island after vacationing here, and...
Taking the pulse of the Vineyard
This month, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital will be conducting the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), a way to take a snapshot of the many factors that contribute to the community health of the...
MVH Profile: Karen Casper, M.D., FACEP
How long have you been at the hospital, Karen?
I grew up in El Paso, Texas, and I’ve been here since 2002. Prior to coming here I was at the Boston Medical Center, and the...
MVH Profile: Martha Bischoff, Infectious Control Officer
How long have you been at the hospital, Martha?
I came to work here five years ago. Prior to that I was a clinical manager in pediatric ER trauma in Florida.
What’s a typical day like...