Hack keeps Manatee Memorial, Lakewood Ranch computer systems down for a fifth day
For the fifth day, computer and email systems remained down Thursday at Manatee Memorial Hospital, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and other United Health Services hospitals across the United States.
The company’s IT network remains offline, as it works through a security incident caused by malware.
The cyber attack occurred early Sunday morning, at which time the company shut down all networks across the United States.
“We have no indication at this time that any patient or employee data has been accessed, copied or misused. The company’s UK operations have not been impacted,” the company said in its latest update Tuesday night.
UHS said that it has implemented extensive IT security protocols to protect its systems and data, and is working with IT security partners to restore IT infrastructure and business operations as quickly as possible.
“We are making steady progress with recovery efforts. Certain applications have already started coming online again, with others projected to be restored on a rolling basis across the U.S.,” the company said.
In the meantime, UHS facilities are using their established back-up processes, including offline documentation methods. Patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively.
Late Thursday afternoon, UHS issued an updated statement:
“The UHS IT Network is in the process of being restored and applications are being reconnected. We have a large number of corporate-level administrative systems, and the recovery process is either complete or well underway in a prioritized manner. We are making steady progress and are confident that we will be able to get hospital networks restored and reconnected soon.
“Our major information systems such as the electronic medical record (EMR) were not directly impacted; we are focused on restoring connections to these systems. In the meantime, our facilities are using their established back-up processes including offline documentation methods.”
UHS, based in King of Prussia, Pa., is one of the largest providers of hospital and healthcare services in the nation with more than 90,000 employees, 26 Acute Care hospitals, 328 Behavioral Health inpatient facilities, and 42 outpatient facilities and ambulatory care centers in 37 states in the U.S., Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 2:03 PM.
