Texas healthcare provider UMC Health System has been diverting patients for several days after taking IT systems offline following a ransomware attack.
UMC disclosed the incident on September 27, when it announced that both emergency and non-emergency patients via ambulance were being diverted to nearby hospitals.
“Immediately after detecting this activity, our teams launched an investigation and took steps to proactively disconnect our systems to contain the incident,” the healthcare provider said in an incident notice on its website.
On Monday, however, the non-profit hospital announced that sustained efforts over the weekend allowed it to restore some of the affected services, and that only a select number of patients were being diverted.
“Our healthcare facilities remain open across all access points including Emergency Centers and Urgent Care Clinics. UMC’s Emergency Center is now accepting patients via ambulance,” UMC announced.
The healthcare provider said it has engaged “third-parties that have helped other hospitals address similar issues” to help with the response and remediation efforts.
Downtime procedures and accommodations were implemented to minimize impact on patients and critical services, and services will be restored when deemed safe.
Facilities and clinics remain open, although they are not operating normally, and patients are being notified of changes to scheduled appointments and impact on treatment. Those who need immediate assistance are advised to go to a clinic, as phone and online access are not guaranteed.
“We continue to diligently work to progress on our restoration and recovery efforts. Our teams are working around-the-clock, with the assistance of third parties, to investigate and respond,” UMC said.
The hospital added that it would continue to provide updates on the progress of both remediation efforts and its investigation into the attack.
UMC, which operates University Medical Center in Lubbock, provides comprehensive healthcare services across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, including level-one trauma care.
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