St. Margaret’s Health–Spring Valley (Ill.) has shut down its computer network in response to a cyberattack Feb. 21, Shaw Local News Tribune reports.
The hospital's IT department discovered the breach Feb. 21 and initiated a complete shutdown of its computer network, including email, its EHR patient portal and all web-based operations. St. Margaret's Health –Spring Valley will divert its diagnostic imaging procedures to St. Margaret's Health–Peru (Ill.).
St. Margaret's Health–Spring Valley will operate offline while cybersecurity experts investigate the attack. The hospital is using telephone and fax services, which have been approved as safe to use. There is no timeline for when all systems will be safe and functioning normally, according to the report.
The hospital said it is unaware of how the breach occurred, but there has been no evidence of breach of patient information. Linda Burt, vice president of quality and community services at St. Margaret’s Health–Spring Valley, said the hospital prepares for potential downtimes.
"We have drills, and we have practiced for computer downtime," she said. "Our computer systems periodically undergo updates that require the system to be shut down. So we just implemented all of our paper processes."