It is unlikely that any records exist to prove, pro or con, this story.
Hospitals in different states have different requirements for record retention. Hawaii, last I checked, was 25 years.
As everyone converts to EMR, paper records are being destroyed as rapidly as possible. I had a case in 2006 where I had to confirm a simple fact from 1958, from my own hospital, and the fact is that all records from 1958 are long gone.
Whether or not the State of Hawaii is involved in a coverup (and they SHOULD have whatever records exist from 1961), it's very unlikely that Kapiolani has any relevant information at all.
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It is unlikely that any records exist to prove, pro or con, this story.
Hospitals in different states have different requirements for record retention. Hawaii, last I checked, was 25 years.
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If you are correct, then Kapiolani Hospital officials should have no problem coming out with a statement tomorrow like this one: "We destroy patient records after 25 years, so we have no records of Stanley Ann Dunham if she was a patient here in Aug. 1961, because the period between Aug. 1961 and May 2012 is a period of about 50 years."
Don't hold your breath.
1. Myself, I have trouble believing that Kapiolani Hospital does not have at least one piece of paper in a forgotten file some where or one item on their computer records with the name of Stanley Ann Dunham and the year 1961, if Stanley Ann Dunham was indeed a patient there in Aug. 1961.
2. For instance, you may remember that a few years ago, Kapiolani Hospital proudly displayed a letter from President Obama that stated that he was born there.
3. But Kapiolani officials quietly stopped displaying the President's letter on its website because of complaints.
4. My point is this: Why would Kapiolani officials proudly display the President's letter if they had no record whatsoever that Stanley Ann Dunham was a patient there in 1961, because they destroyed her records in 1961 + 25 = 1986.
5. But, to me, the most interesting question is this: Why did Kapiolani Hospital officials quietly take down the President's letter from its website if Stanley Ann Dunham was a patient there in Aug. 1961?
6. Again, Kapiolani Hospital officials could quickly clear up the question tomorrow of whether or not Stanley Ann Dunham was a patient there in Aug. 1961 by making a public statement one way or the other.