Ascension St. John experiencing technology disruption

Asked to confirm patient reports that Ascension St. John Health System in the Tulsa area was diverting or transferring patients, a hospital spokesperson said he was not authorized to respond.

However, an EMSA spokesperson confirmed that local ambulances were being diverted from the Ascension St. John facility.

“ER diversion is something that happens almost every day in different hospitals and for different reasons,” he said.

However, regarding reports that St. John Medical Center and Ascension suburban hospitals are currently operating without access to the Internet, computer-based patient records, or telephone lines, a hospital spokesperson provided the following written statement in response to reports that the Tulsa suburban hospital is currently operating without access to the Internet, computer-based patient records, or telephone lines. – Announced to the world.

“On Wednesday, May 8th, we detected unusual activity on some of our technology network systems. We responded immediately, began an investigation, and began remediation efforts. access to some systems has been interrupted.

“Our care teams are trained to prepare for this type of disruption and have initiated steps to ensure the delivery of patient care remains safe and to minimize the impact as much as possible.”

With the use of online technology across healthcare, hospitals are becoming increasingly common targets for thieves who seek to hold their systems' data and networks hostage in exchange for a ransom payment.

Last fall, Hillcrest HealthCare System was forced to reschedule or transfer patients after its parent company, Ardent, suffered a ransomware attack.

Officials at Ascension, a Catholic faith-based health care organization headquartered in St. Louis that took over operations of the once locally managed St. John System in 2013, said they are investigating newly detected “anomalous activity.” Patients will be notified if this is found to be the case. Confidential information was affected.

“We have notified the appropriate authorities and are working to thoroughly investigate any information that may have been affected by this situation. If we determine that sensitive information has been affected, we will will notify and support the affected individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines,” an Ascension St. John spokesperson said.