Kettering Health Cyberattack Causes System-Wide Technology Outage

Kettering Health Cyberattack Causes System-Wide Technology Outage

Kettering Health’s system-wide technology outage is entering its second week after a cybersecurity incident last Tuesday resulted from unauthorized access to its network. The hospital system, which includes 14 area medical centers and over 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, is working to restore access. The outage could last anywhere between 10 and 20 days.

The emergency departments, on-demand care, and urgent care locations remain open and ready to care for patients. However, patients are facing challenges due to missed appointments, testing, and treatments. Havilah McGinnis, a Yellow Springs resident, was awaiting her final radiation treatment for a brain tumor when the cyberattack occurred. “I know that they’re trying to contact people and doing the best they can in a really terrible circumstance,” she said. “But without any information, it’s really hard to know if I’m going to get contacted at all.”

Outage Caused by Ransomware

John Weimer, senior vice president and leader for Incident Command at Kettering Health, stated that the outage was caused by a ransomware attack. The hospital system did not have any direct contact with the perpetrator and did not pay any ransom. “At this time, my understanding is we have not received a request, nor have we paid anything,” Weimer said. They shut down the system to isolate it and worked with their forensic teams to sequester it so that they can bring systems back online.

Impact on Patient Care

Kettering Health advised patients with appointments to still attend unless they have been contacted to reschedule. Procedures are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis with safety as the highest priority. Medical staff reported that physicians’ ability to fill prescriptions and conduct medical imaging is severely limited due to lack of access to patients’ medical records. Some diagnoses and treatments have been suspended, and doctors are giving out their personal cell phone numbers to patients because the phone lines are down.

For patients needing prescription refills, Kettering Health suggested bringing the empty prescription bottle to the doctor’s office for assistance. The hospital system launched temporary urgent clinical support phone lines for patients with urgent medical questions. For urgent medical concerns after hours, weekends, and holidays, patients can call MatchMD at 1-866-257-5363.

Patients like McGinnis, who was awaiting radiation treatment, and Leah Day, who had an endoscopic ultrasound appointment rescheduled, are concerned about the impact on their health and personal security. “I’ve been so concerned about my health that I haven’t even had room to panic about that,” McGinnis said. Day expressed concern about the threat to her personal security, being a Medicare patient who pays deductibles online.

The latest updates about the outage can be found at ketteringhealth.org/system-wide-technology-outage. Women’s Health patients can find updated OB-GYN practice phone numbers at ketteringhealth.org/womens-health-after-hours-information.

As the situation continues to unfold, patients remain concerned about their care and personal information. Kettering Health is working to restore its systems while ensuring patient safety remains the top priority.