Erie VA Medical Center says it regrets veteran info disclosure

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·2 min read

Jan. 9—ERIE — The Erie VA Medical Center says it regrets any preventable disclosure of sensitive veteran information and takes appropriate action to inform and protect impacted individuals as quickly as possible.

The statement, issued Monday, comes almost eight full weeks after a printing error was discovered about the potential disclosure of limited information that may have been sent to another Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patient by mistake back in around mid-November 2023.

A total of 2,380 veterans in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Delaware had to be notified of the potential disclosure.

The VA also didn't disclose the issue to the public until Thursday.

No Social Security numbers or other identifying information were divulged when a computer application printed postcards addressed to patients containing appointment scheduling and reminders for other patients on Nov. 9, 2023.

The error was discovered Nov. 14, with corrected appointment postcards mailed to all affected patients on Nov. 16.

In the statement, Karen O'Neal, acting public affairs office with the Erie VA Medical Center, cited the VA's Handbook regarding data breaches.

"There are specific measures we must take to respond to data breaches, including steps to follow for informing affected individuals and notification to the public," O'Neal said in the emailed statement. "For data breaches involving more than 500 individuals, VA must first notify affected individuals through first-class mail. Additional time was required to identify the affected individuals and complete notifications resulting in the delay in informing the public."

Area veterans who have questions or concerns about whether their personal information may have been involved and who receive health care at the VA Medical Centers in Erie, Pittsburgh, Altoona or Coatesville in Pennsylvania or in Wilmington, Delaware, may call, toll-free, (855) 429-7502 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.