Health Care Network in Crisis: Cyberattack Shuts Down Operations Across US

After a cyberattack this week, the largest healthcare system in the United States is diverting ambulances to “several” of its hospitals, the company said Thursday. In a statement released Thursday evening by Ascension Hospital, a nonprofit network based in St. Louis with 140 hospitals across 19 states, it was also reported that electronic health records, some phone systems, as well as several systems used to order certain tests, procedures and medications, have all been disrupted by the cyberattack. 

In response to the cyberattack, the sprawling healthcare network, which also owns 40 senior living facilities, announced that it would be utilizing “downtime procedures for some time” in the coming days. When computers fail, healthcare providers usually resort to backup procedures to enable them to care for patients, such as paper records.

Ascension Health System operates in 19 states across the U.S. and has been forced to divert ambulances from some of its 140 hospitals due to a cyberattack. 

As a result, patients’ medical tests have been postponed, and the system has been blocked online. On Wednesday, Ascension’s computer network systems showed “unusual activity.” This was a message sent to the Ascension team. There was no word from the Catholic health system in St. Louis regarding whether it had been hit by ransomware or if it had paid the ransom. 

An email seeking updates did not come from the health system, nor did it respond to any

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