MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — At this time, Monongalia Well being System, Inc., and its affiliated hospitals, Monongalia County Basic Hospital Firm, Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital Firm and Preston Memorial Hospital Company (collectively, “Mon Well being”), introduced that it just lately investigated and responded to a knowledge safety incident, and is now notifying people whose info might have been concerned.
On December 30, 2021, Mon Well being decided {that a} knowledge safety incident resulted in unauthorized entry to info pertaining to Mon Well being sufferers, suppliers, staff, and contractors. Mon Well being first discovered of the incident on December 18, 2021, when it was alerted to uncommon exercise in its IT community which disrupted the operations of a few of Mon Well being’s IT methods. Upon studying of this, to guard its sufferers and safe its methods, Mon Well being instantly took a good portion of its IT community and methods offline and initiated downtime procedures. Mon Well being additionally carried out an enterprise wide-password reset, carried out community hardening measures, notified regulation enforcement, and launched a complete investigation, with the help of a third-party forensic agency.
Mon Well being’s investigation confirmed that this incident did not contain unauthorized entry to Mon Well being’s digital well being information methods. By way of the investigation, Mon Well being decided that unauthorized events accessed its IT community between December 8, 2021 and December 19, 2021. Mon Well being’s investigation can’t rule out the likelihood that, whereas in its IT community, the unauthorized events might have accessed recordsdata on IT methods that comprise affected person, supplier, worker, and contractor info. This info might have included the next info regarding sufferers and members of Mon Well being’s worker well being plan: names, addresses, Social Safety numbers, Medicare Well being Insurance coverage Declare Numbers (which might comprise Social Safety numbers), dates of start, affected person account numbers, medical insurance plan member ID numbers, medical file numbers, dates of service, supplier names, claims info, medical and scientific therapy info and/or standing as a present or former Mon Well being affected person or member of Mon Well being’s worker well being plan.
Starting on February 28, 2022, Mon Well being will mail discover letters to sufferers whose info might have been concerned on this incident. Mon Well being has additionally established a devoted, toll-free name heart to assist reply questions from people whose info might have been concerned on this incident. Further info is on the market at https://www.monhealth.com or by calling Mon Well being’s devoted, toll-free incident response line at 855-568-2163, Monday by Friday, between 9:00am to six:30pm, Jap Time.
Mon Well being recommends that sufferers stay vigilant by reviewing their monetary account statements for any unauthorized exercise. If sufferers establish costs or exercise they didn’t authorize, they need to contact their monetary establishment instantly. Moreover, Mon Well being encourages sufferers to assessment the statements they obtain from their healthcare suppliers and medical insurance plans. If sufferers see any companies that weren’t obtained, they need to contact the related supplier or well being plan instantly.
To assist stop one thing like this from occurring once more, Mon Well being has carried out, and can proceed to undertake, extra safeguards and technical safety measures to additional shield and monitor its methods.
SOURCE Monongalia Well being System, Inc.