On August 2, 2024, Wayne Memorial Hospital (“Wayne Memorial”) reported a data breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access confidential information entrusted to the organization. In this report, Wayne Memorial explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ confidential information. Once the investigation is complete, Wayne Memorial will begin sending data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data breach.
If you receive a data breach notification from Wayne Memorial Hospital, it is important that you understand the risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud or identity theft and discuss your legal options after the Wayne Memorial Hospital data breach. For more information, see our recent article on this topic. Here.
What caused the data breach at Wayne Memorial Hospital?
The Wayne Memorial Hospital data breach was only recently disclosed and more information is expected in the near future. However, at this early stage, Wayne Memorial Hospital’s report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights provides limited information about what led to the data breach.
According to this source, Wayne Memorial Hospital experienced a data security incident that involved a “hacking/IT incident” of a network server. While most data breaches reported to HHS-OCR involve intrusions into the archiving company’s network, it is possible that Wayne Memorial patient information was leaked through a data breach at one of the hospital’s third-party vendors.
After learning that confidential consumer data was accessible to unauthorized parties, Wayne Memorial Hospital reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were affected. Wayne Memorial recently completed this review.
On August 2, 2024, Wayne Memorial Hospital filed a report with HHS-OCR. Typically, companies file an official report of a data breach around the same time they send out letters about the data breach to all affected victims. However, the timeline for the data breach at Wayne Memorial Hospital might be a little different. Regardless, once sent, the letters should provide victims with a list of the information belonging to them that was compromised.
More information about Wayne Memorial Hospital
Wayne Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit, community-managed hospital located in Honesdale, PA. Wayne Memorial Hospital is a 90-bed acute care hospital with 14 additional inpatient rehabilitation beds. The hospital also offers imaging services, laboratory services, outpatient laboratory and rehabilitation facilities, a maternity unit, and an emergency department. Wayne Memorial Hospital employs more than 329 people and generates annual revenue of approximately $130 million.
