Cyberattack On NY Hospitals Forces Ambulance Diversions

Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) had to temporarily divert ambulances and shut down IT systems in response to a cyberattack, AP News first reported. According to the health system’s website, the temporary diversions have ended and the impacted organizations are once again fully operational as of Monday, October 23.

On October 16, the health system posted an update on its website to let patients know that HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, including HealthAlliance Hospital, Margaretville Hospital, and Mountainside Residential Care Center, was experiencing a potential cyberattack and IT system outage.

A few days later, the health system made the difficult decision to shut down its connected IT systems at the three impacted facilities in order to fully restore its network. At the time, WMCHealth said that the downtime was expected to last 24 hours, followed by a weekend-long process of standing up the systems on a rolling basis.

The health system also announced that it would be diverting ambulances from HealthAlliance Hospital to other facilities and “making decisions on whether to discharge current HealthAlliance Hospital patients to their homes or facilitate transfers to other hospitals within the WMCHealth Network.”

“HealthAlliance Hospital will remain open and walk-in patients will be treated, assessed and either released, or stabilized and transferred to other WMCHealth facilities,” the October 19 notice continued.

By October 21, WMCHealth had confirmed the cyberattack and was in the process of restoring IT systems. Both HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville Hospital remained open, and Mountainside Residential Care Center did not suffer any care disruptions.

The ambulance diversion from HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville Hospital ended on Saturday night, and the health system assured patients that the two hospitals were once again fully operational and admitting patients. Emergency stroke patients will still be temporarily taken to other hospitals, the notice stated.

“I want to applaud everyone at HealthAlliance Hospital, Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center for all of their hard work and dedication while facing an incredibly difficult situation, helping us return to full operations sooner than expected while continuing to provide the best possible care for patients in our community,” Josh Ratner, CEO of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley and executive vice president and chief strategy officer of WMCHealth, said in a press release.

“This helped demonstrate the strength of the entire WMCHealth Network, with hospitals, physicians, nurses and administrators from across the network playing a vital role in making sure our patients were cared for as we worked to regain full operations, resume admitting patients and minimize any impacts of this disruption.”

In August, Prospect Medical Holdings suffered a cyberattack that similarly impacted facilities across its network of 16 hospitals and 165 clinics. Impacted organizations within the network experienced systemwide outages and service disruptions as the organization worked to restore operations.