Testimonial: You recognize a hospital’s standards…

You recognize a hospital’s standards and values
very quickly when you are around them
as often as we are!

Our twins Mathew and Jessica were born in 1994, two and a half months early. We spent the first four months of their lives at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Mathew has life-long disabilities, has had 26 surgeries since his birth, and will always require follow-up care.

When the twins were three my husband retired from the Coast Guard. We are both from the San Diego area and at first we considered moving back home. Our families would have loved to have us back, but we had also fallen in love with the North Coast. We had also spent three years developing a network of providers, therapists, and hospitals that would give us the quality of care Mathew needed. We had a tough decision to make.

In the end, the decision was easy. We had the best of all worlds right here in Astoria.

The more we used the ER at Columbia Memorial Hospital, the more the value of that relationship was apparent. Columbia Memorial Hospital works well with Doernbecher, OHSU and Shriners. When we call the Emergency Room they know us, they know my sons case personally. Columbia Memorial Hospital is an important part of a team that is vital to our son’s health and well-being.

We have a valued relationship with Columbia Memorial Hospital. Not just with the doctors, but also with registration, the lab, radiology, the therapists, the nurses, even the cafeteria staff know who we are. That’s pretty cool. You just can’t get that in a big city hospital.

You can’t place a value on the care we receive at Columbia Memorial Hospital.

Mathew is doing awesome! He and his sister are 13 now, 8th graders, going into high school next year.

My husband Chris has been a surfer for 50 years. I told him the other night, “You know Chris… no amount of sunshine or big waves are worth the peace of mind that I get from knowing Columbia Memorial Hospital is a true partner in the care of our children.”

Debbie Morrow
Warrenton, Oregon
Resident since 1990