Notice of Data Privacy Incident WatsonvilleHospitalcom

pNotice of Data Privacy IncidentDate December 31 2024ppWatsonville Community Hospital WCH is providing notice of a recent data security event which is still under investigation As we continue to investigate and work toward notifying impacted individuals directly we are providing information about the event our response and steps potentially impacted individuals can take to protect their information should they feel it is appropriate to do soppWhat happened We became aware of suspicious activity related to certain systems within our computer network In response we promptly took portions of our network offline isolated the affected systems and began an investigation into the activity with the assistance of thirdparty specialists Although the investigation is ongoing we determined that files were copied from a certain computer system on or about November 29 2024 We note that there is no indication that information was copied from our Electronic Health Record system We are undertaking a comprehensive review of the atrisk files to identify individuals whose information may have been impacted by this event Once this comprehensive review is complete we will work as quickly as possible to mail a notification letter directly to potentially impacted individuals which will include resources that individuals can reference to further protect their informationppWhat information was involved While information varies by individual the investigation to date determined that information such as name date of birth Social Security number passport number and diagnosis information may have been present in the relevant files As discussed above our comprehensive review of the involved files is ongoingppWhat WCH is doing  Information privacy and security are among our highest priorities Upon learning of this event we moved quickly to investigate and respond to the incident assess the security of our systems restore functionality to our IT Network and notify potentially affected individuals As part of our ongoing commitment to information privacy and security we reviewed and enhanced our technical administrative and physical safeguards policies and procedures to further secure the information on our systems We also reported this incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation who is responsible for investigating these cyber events and appropriate state and federal data privacy regulators We remain committed to complying with all state and federal requirements and maintaining timely and transparent communication with our community as we learn more If additional individuals are identified they will promptly receive notice directly from usppWhat you can do We encourage individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors Suspicious activity should be promptly reported to relevant parties including an insurance company healthcare provider andor financial institution Additional information and resources may be found in the Steps Individuals Can Take to Protect Personal Information section of this noticeppFor more information Individuals seeking additional information may contact our dedicated bilingual assistance line at 18339186604 tollfree which is available Monday through Friday from 600 AM to 600 PM Pacific Standard Time excluding major US holidays Individuals may also write to Watsonville Community Hospital Attn Executive Administration 75 Nielson St Watsonville CA 95076pp   8317244741 pp    email protectedpp  75 Nielson Street Watsonville CA 95076 p