Jefferson Hills (Pa.) Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center temporarily closed on March 1 following a cyberattack that caused paychecks to be delayed.
On Feb. 21, the payroll company used at the facility shut down after an attack on Change Healthcare, causing some Jefferson Hills employees to not receive paychecks. The PennsylvaniaDepartment of Health placed the facility in immediate jeopardy due to the lack of payment.
"With the challenges created from the above-mentioned circumstances, combined with the cyberattack occurring on 2/21/2024 impacting the ability to maintain staffing levels at Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, the decision was made to temporarily close the facility effectively 3/1/2024 to give the sister facilities a chance to succeed," according to a statement on the facility's website.
Optum's Change Healthcare confirmed Feb. 29 that it was hacked by a ransomware gang after the group claimed to have stolen massive amounts of data. Many of Change Healthcare's applications, which span revenue cycle management to prescription processing, have been down since Feb. 21, disrupting operations at hospitals, physician practices and pharmacies across the country. ALPHV/Blackcat, aka BlackCat, claimed responsibility for the hack. The group allegedly stolen data including medical records, Social Security numbers and information on active military personnel.