Ascension Health, which operates St. Vincent’s Birmingham and five other facilities in the Birmingham metropolitan area, reported on Wednesday that they may have experienced a cybersecurity incident leading to disruptions in clinical operations. The health care system detected unusual activity on specific technology network systems on May 8, which has been attributed to 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 stated that they are currently investigating the situation and have initiated remediation efforts. Some systems have been interrupted as part of the investigation process.
Despite the disruption to clinical operations, care teams have been trained to handle such situations and are ensuring that patient care delivery remains safe and minimally impacted. Companies working with Ascension Health have been advised to suspend their connection to the Ascension environment temporarily until further notice.
To assist with the investigation, a third-party expert, Mandiant, has been called in by Ascension Health. The health care system has also informed the appropriate authorities about the incident and is working to determine if any sensitive information may have been affected. If any information is found to be compromised, Ascension Health will notify and provide support to those individuals in accordance with regulatory and legal guidelines.