This information was originally posted by Shirley on the WACOWLIT-L mailing list, June 24, 1999, and is reprinted here with her permission.
St. John's Hospital bought Monticello Medical Center in the 1980s. (Cowlitz General built a new facility, and renamed it Monticello.) If you were a patient at Cowlitz General or Monticello Medical, you can obtain a copy of your records. (Note: St. John's has changed their name to St. John Medical Center.) The same instructions will apply in requesting records from St. John's Hospital. This is what I obtained from St. John:
Contact "Help Information" (formerly Patient Records) at 360-423-1530. They have a form to fill out for the records request; they need the original signed form to release anything. You may also write them at:
Help Information
1615 Douglas St.
Longview, WA 98632
or fax them at 360-414-7646.
The request must be specific. For example, if you want all the hospital records for your birth, you need to state that...giving the dates you were in the hospital. Include your daytime phone number in case they have questions about the pages you want copies of.
Fees: chart retrieval and refiling (forgot to write this $$ down)
$.74 per page up to 30 pages, then $.57 per page
$1.00 microfilm charge if the file has been microfilmed
The bill will be sent with the copies.
A bit of trivia... I always thought the old train depot location was the original Cowlitz General Hospital. It wasn't! The first hospital was in the red brick building on the NW corner at 14th and Broadway (still standing). Also, there was a Blackstone (maternity) clinic in Longview, but I haven't found its location yet. Perhaps someone can provide this info?
[Editor's note: Sandy Routree provided this follow-up about the Blackstone clinic: "I don't know about a clinic, but a wing of the old Cowlitz General was named for William "Bill" Blackstone. Seems like not too long after that the hospital was closed and everything moved to St Johns. His son is Dr. Bruce Blackstone who still works in the Longview area. He could provide the information you want, dates, etc."]