On Wednesday, Ascension Health announced that they may have experienced a cybersecurity incident leading to disruptions in clinical operations at their facilities in the Birmingham metropolitan area. The system detected unusual activity on select technology network systems on Wednesday, May 8, which they believe was caused by a cybersecurity event.
The affected facilities include St. Vincent’s Birmingham, St. Vincent’s Blount, St. Vincent’s Chilton, St. Vincent’s East, St. Vincent’s St. Clair, and St. Vincent’s One Nineteen. Ascension Health has initiated an investigation and activated remediation efforts in response to the incident. Some systems have been interrupted as a result of the ongoing investigation.
The care teams at these facilities are trained to handle such disruptions and have implemented procedures to ensure patient care delivery remains safe and minimally impacted. The disruption has affected clinical operations, and Ascension Health is assessing the impact and duration of the disruption.
Companies that work with Ascension Health were advised to temporarily disconnect from their environment until further notice. The health care system has engaged the services of a third-party expert, Mandiant, to assist with the investigation. Relevant authorities have also been notified of the incident.
Ascension Health is working to determine if any sensitive information has been affected by the situation