Committee raises concerns about Our Island Home financing and capacity

Peter Halley, chair of the Advisory Committee of Non-Voting Taxpayers of Nantucket, told the group on May 2 that the committee's letter on financing for a proposed Our Island Home had been published in the Current and that Jean Briskin's letter appeared in the Inquirer.

The committee said those published pieces questioned whether the town's current plan would deliver skilled nursing care in the most cost-effective way and compared alternative structures used on Martha's Vineyard. Halley said the membership did not plan to speak at town meeting because the issue, he said, "is going to be fully ventilated from both sides" and others might be more familiar and credible to town meeting attendees.

Committee members flagged the numbers and subsidies being discussed in public commentary. Donna Martino recalled Jean's point about local need: "What is it? There are 4,000 senior residents on the island?" she said, and noted there are only about 45 beds at Our Island Home. Martino added that because the facility receives federal subsidy through MassHealth, "it cannot be limited to a single town," meaning some beds may be filled by applicants from outside Nantucket.

Pam and other members emphasized that Our Island Home also provides short-term rehabilitative services after hospitalization, not only long-term placements, and warned that losing or changing those services would affect families who rely on local rehab capacity.

Members repeatedly framed the committee's role as advisory: they said they had expressed their concerns in print and would continue to monitor town meeting debate rather than launch a separate public campaign. The committee also compared the current debate to prior local facility decisions, saying a compromise solution is plausible.

The committee agreed to watch town meeting developments and to revisit the matter if new technical information or formal proposals surfaced.

The committee approved its agenda and the April 11 draft minutes earlier in the meeting and adjourned at the scheduled time.