Ascension Healthcare provides updates following a cybersecurity incident

Ascension St Vincent’s Birmingham hopes its new electrophysiology laboratory will give cardiac patients quicker access to cardiac care. (Photo courtesy of Neal Posey)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Ascension Healthcare network provided an update following a national cybersecurity event last week.

The following message was sent from Ascension St. Vincent’s communications office:

Ascension previously reported that it experienced a ransomware attack that caused disruption to patient care on its network. Our priority remains ensuring safe patient care. Ascension, with the support of leading cybersecurity experts, worked around the clock over the weekend to respond to the ransomware incident that affected our systems. Our focus is on safely restoring systems. We are making progress, but returning to normal operations will take time. Once systems and services come back online, we will share these updates so our patients and communities can plan accordingly. We have created a dedicated website to share all of the Alabama updates we have in our system.

According to the website, all Ascension St. Vincent hospitals, doctor’s offices and nursing facilities throughout Alabama are open and operational.

As clinics move to manual systems for documentation, patients may experience longer than usual wait times and some delays. Patients are asked to bring notes about symptoms and a list of current medications, including prescription numbers or bottles, to appointments.

Certain Ascension Rx retail pharmacies in Alabama are not operating. Staff will work with patients to find an alternative route to fulfillment at another pharmacy.