Ascension hospitals disrupted by ‘cyber security’ incident

Ascension, a national health care system that operates several hospitals in Central Texas, said a suspected cybersecurity issue had disrupted clinical operations on Wednesday.

In an emailed statement, a representative for Ascension said the organization was investigating “unusual activity” on select technology network systems with the assistance of a third-party cybersecurity firm. Authorities have also been notified about the issue.

“Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Ascension is still determining the “impact and duration” of the disruption.

Part of the investigation includes determining if any patient data was affected by the event. Per the statement, individuals may be contacted if any sensitive information is determined to be affected. The organization is asking business partners to disconnect from Ascension technology systems until the issue is resolved.

An Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin employee, who spoke to KUT News on the condition of anonymity, said they had been unable to log in to the hospital’s patient charting system since Wednesday morning. The employee also said they had been unable to use an internal mobile communications app.

In addition to ASMCA, Ascension Texas also operates Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas, Ascension Seton Northwest, Ascension Seton Hays and Ascension Seton Williamson.