Schneck announces data security breach

Dedicated toll-free response line has been established

Schneck Medical Center announced Friday afternoon it will notify a limited number of patients about a data security incident during which an unauthorized party removed a limited number of files from the Seymour hospital’s systems.

Upon learning of the issue, Schneck commenced an immediate and thorough investigation and alerted law enforcement, according to McDonald Hopkins, a business advisory and advocacy law firm in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

As part of its investigation, Schneck engaged leading third-party experts experienced in handling these types of incidents. The investigation worked to identify what personal information, if any, might have been present in the removed files.

After an extensive forensic investigation and manual document review, Schneck discovered on March 17 that one or more of the files removed by the unauthorized party on or aboutSept. 29, 2021, contained protected health information pertaining to certain patients such as full names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record and/or other internal identification numbers, driver’s license/state identification numbers, medical diagnosis and conditions information and health insurance/claims information.

Additionally, with respect to a limited number of patients, the information included Social Security numbers, financial account information, and/or payment card information.

This incident does not affect all Schneck patients and not all information was included for all individuals. Schneck Medical Center has no evidence that any of the information was or will be misused.

Out of an abundance of caution, however, Schneck will notify individuals whose information was included in the limited number of files involved in this incident. Notified individuals will be provided with credit monitoring services where applicable, and best practices to protect their information, including but not limited to reviewing the explanation of benefits statements they receive from their health insurance providers and following up on any items or services not recognized.

The security and privacy of personal information is of the utmost importance to Schneck Medical Center. Since the incident, Schneck Medical Center has worked with its information technology department to implement additional security measures in an effort to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future.

For individuals who have questions or need additional information regarding this incident, or to determine if they are impacted and are eligible for credit monitoring, Schneck Medical Center has established a dedicated toll-free response line at 877-880-1662. The response line is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.