PeaceHealth St. John Reports Record Number Of Patients -08/19/21

Today, PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center is caring for an unprecedented number of patients. Community members with less severe medical issues can help preserve hospital capacity for the acutely ill by seeking treatment in outpatient settings.

“We are at our most critical moment thus far in this pandemic,” said Cherelle Montanye, Chief Administrative Officer at PeaceHealth St. John. “Bed space is precious, and we need the cooperation of our community. Please come to our Emergency Department only if you have an immediate, urgent medical need. Patients with minor medical issues can be seen at an Urgent Care location or by their primary care providers.”

PeaceHealth St. John's Emergency Department is available 24/7 to provide immediate care for those experiencing life-threatening or emergent medical issues. Mildly ill people who are worried they may have COVID-19 should not come to the E.R. for testing. These patients should instead make an online testing appointment at www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/2802/COVID-19-Testing.

To ensure care for the acutely ill, PeaceHealth St. John has already taken the difficult step of delaying scheduled elective procedures that would result in a patient requiring an overnight hospital stay. This change does not affect hospital patients with scheduled same-day surgeries or PeaceHealth Medical Group patients with daily clinical appointments.

In the last several days, there has been a rapid increase in the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. PeaceHealth St. John strongly advocates that everyone who is medically able to get the COVID-19 vaccine do so without delay. Find information on vaccine availability at peacehealth.org/coronavirus. For the safety of all, our no visitor policy remains in place at the hospital and in all of our clinics.

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center is a community-owned, not-for-profit, 193-bed acute care hospital and Level III trauma center located at 1615 Delaware St. in Longview, Washington. Recognized nationally as a Top 100 Hospital, PeaceHealth St. John provides a full range of outpatient and inpatient diagnostic, medical, and surgical services. The region’s health care leader for more than 75 years, PeaceHealth St. John is one of ten medical centers in the PeaceHealth system.