Hospitals continue to deal with the fallout of a ransomware attack on a large blood supplier.
OneBlood, which operates blood donation centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, has been experiencing an IT outage, caused by a cyberattack, since July 30. The organization alerted more than 250 hospitals to activate their critical blood shortage protocols.
Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial HealthCare had to postpone two complex elective surgeries to preserve its blood supply amid the ransomware attack and make a deal with another blood distributor, WCTV reported Aug. 1.
"Our comprehensive response efforts are ongoing and we are working diligently to restore full functionality to our systems as expeditiously as possible," said Susan Forbes, OneBlood senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations, in a statement.
The American Hospital Association noted Aug. 1 that this cyberattack, along with two others in recent months that disrupted the blood supply, should put hospitals on notice.
"These incidents provide ample reason and impetus for [healthcare delivery organizations], hospitals and health systems to review contingency plans for possible disruption to the blood supply chain and other mission and life-critical medical supplies," the AHA stated.