Franklin, Ind.-based Johnson Memorial Health spent six months trying to get their operations back to normal after Hive ransomware group infiltrated its networks in October 2021, but it is still feeling the effects of the cyberattack two years later, Side Effects Public Media reported March 27.
In October 2021, Hive ransomware group left ransom notes on local servers demanding $3 million in Bitcoin after infiltrating the health system's network prompting its emergency department to divert ambulances, and forcing some of its critical systems offline, including its EHR system.
The effects of the attack lasted months for the health system.
"Our lives were absolute chaos and mayhem for months on end," Dona Thomas, an ER nurse at Johnson Memorial told the publication. "And we are still reeling from the effects of that."
During the attack, the health system's obstetrics unit's secure gate system was taken offline and could not open, causing hospital staff to have to physically guard the doors.
A remote translation service was also down, leaving clinicians to struggle to communicate with non-English speaking patients.
Fetal monitors also went down and staff could not receive notifications to monitor vitals of women in labor and their fetuses.
Johnson Memorial Health also couldn't bill for services as those systems were also affected.
Although the health system has brought its systems back online, it took them a total of six months to do so, and has left long-lasting effects.
Its revenue cycle has not yet recovered and its insurance claim from nearly two years ago has yet to be paid.