Cyberattack affects two RI hospitals. What patients should know.
PROVIDENCE – Two Rhode Island hospitals, Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima, are being affected by a cyberattack on their California-based parent company.
The ransomware attack happened Thursday at Prospect Medical Holdings of Los Angeles, which has hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.
The attack caused emergency rooms in multiple states to close and ambulance services to be redirected, the company said.
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Otis Brown, a spokesman for CharterCARE, which owns the two Rhode Island hospitals, said in a statement to The Providence Journal on Saturday that "upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible."
Both hospitals continue to accept walk-ins through the emergency departments, he said. Scheduled surgical procedures remain as planned unless patients are otherwise notified by their physician’s office.
Prospect Medical is investigating how the breach happened and is working on resolving the issue, the company said in a statement Friday.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Roger Williams and Fatima hospitals affected by cyberattack
