Kettering Health plans to provide daily updates starting this weekend, he said.
“We want to publicly express our appreciation to the network of Greater Dayton and northern Cincinnati hospitals and health systems, particularly Dayton Children’s and Premier Health as they have partnered with us to care for the community during this time,” Gentry said.
Patient appointments where IT applications are a necessary part of care plans are being rescheduled, Gentry said.
Yet as patients face missed appointments, testing and treatments, they worry about the impact to their health.
The hospital system’s technology outage followed a cybersecurity incident resulting from unauthorized access to its network.
Sources tell the Dayton Daily News the hospital system experienced a ransomware attack, which is where hackers encrypt the victim’s system and demand a ransom, usually in a digital currency like Bitcoin, in exchange for a de-encryption code. Kettering Health has not confirmed this is the case for this situation.
Kettering Health’s most recent update to its technology outage says patients with appointments should still go to those appointments unless they have been contacted by phone to reschedule.
“Our offices, while operating on alternate procedures in this situation, are still seeing patients when possible,” Kettering Health said.
Medical staff at Kettering Health tell the Dayton Daily News that physicians’ ability to fill prescriptions and do medical imaging is severely limited, they have no access to patients’ medical records, and some diagnoses and treatments are suspended. They say doctors are giving out their personal cell phone numbers to patients because phone lines are down.
For current patients who need a prescription refilled, Kettering Health said to bring your empty prescription bottle to your doctor’s office and the Kettering Health team will assist you.
Social worker Jamie Rogers North of Middletown said the cyberattack has put a pause on surgery she needs for a carotid artery.
And time is of the essence for North. Her doctors have told her she has 80% blockage.
“Will I have a stroke if they don’t fix this?” she said.
She was scheduled for pre-surgery testing on Tuesday, but the morning of her appointment, she received a call canceling that appointment. Hospital workers told North that they’re not sure if they can reschedule the testing before her upcoming surgery.
North took off work this week to drive to appointments and then to the hospital in Kettering to try to reschedule her appointment. The only answer she received was that she may get a call early this week to reschedule, she said.
“I’m very frustrated, just like the rest of everybody,” North said. “They can’t give me any information. They don’t have any information. So, you know, everybody’s just waiting on pins and needles to find out.”
And the frustration goes hand-in-hand with anxiety, North said. She’s unsure who has access to her private information, and she’s worried that online payments she made prior to the attack may have put her at risk.
“It happened, you know, and I don’t blame them,” North said. “But it certainly has put a pinch in my life. One, on my health status, and two, on my personal information.”
Other patients with critical needs are facing the similar frustrations with no clear answers yet.
Yellow Springs resident Havilah McGinnis was awaiting radiation treatment for a brain tumor when the cyberattack occurred.
McGinnis’ canceled appointment was her final radiation treatment. She’s not sure what comes next.
“I know that they’re trying to contact people and doing the best they can in a really terrible circumstance,” she said. “But without any information, it’s really hard to know if I’m going to get contacted at all.”
After McGinnis’ optometrist last year noticed McGinnis’ vision had declined in her right eye, a series of other tests and appointments discovered the brain tumor. McGinnis had surgery in February and started six weeks of radiation treatment.
She worries that missing that treatment could impact her overall wellness.
When asked if she had any concerns with the cyberattack’s impact on her personal records, McGinnis said, “I’ve been so concerned about my health that I haven’t even had room to panic about that.”
“It’s just hard to know what that even means in terms of when and if I will be able to resolve this,” she said.
Mary Burns of Centerville recently had a recent follow-up scan related to lung cancer. Information from that appointment was appearing in her MyChart as late as last Monday, but her main providers at Ohio State University’s medical center cannot access it.
Burns said she’s been very pleased with care she has received through Kettering Health, but she’s concerned with her personal information being leaked. She’s not sure how long she and others could be at risk.
“And I’m really concerned about people that actually had procedures scheduled and had to reschedule,” Burns said. “That’s nerve-wracking.”
Patients are continuing to have difficulty getting in touch with their doctors.
“My arm is in a sling, and I can’t get my doctor,” said Renee Jackson of Springfield. “...This is really a bad situation for them and also really bad for the patients.”
Jackson needs an orthopedic surgeon for a serious shoulder injury and can’t get in touch with her doctor’s office, she said.
“The emergency department did see me,” Jackson said.
She went to the ER before the cyberattack happened, but her shoulder needs an MRI, she said.
“I can’t use my arm,” Jackson said. “Not a good situation, and the surgeon that I need is there in the Kettering (Health) system.”
Leah Day, 76, of West Carrollton showed up to her local hospital early Wednesday for an appointment to get an endoscopic ultrasound, which she needs for doctors to determine how to proceed with cancer treatment.
After checking in and waiting in the lobby, a receptionist told her she would not be having her procedure that day.
“I have an appointment now,” Day said. “But we’ll see how that goes. The hospital could be closed or not closed, not doing any surgeries.”
But also concerning to Day is the threat to her personal security. She’s a Medicare patient and pays for her deductibles online.
“I just hope nothing goes wrong with anyone stealing my information in any way. For any others, too,” she said.
Kettering Health has 14 area medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, as well as Kettering Physician Network, which includes more than 700 board-certified providers.
Kettering Health launches temporary clinical phone line
Kettering Health established a temporary phone line for patients with urgent clinical questions, staffed by Kettering Health registered nurses.
That number is (937) 600-6879.
“We would like to provide assurance that calls are getting through at this time. However, due to the exceedingly high volume, we ask for patience as our teams work as quickly as possible to connect with each caller,” Kettering Health said.
This phone line is intended for urgent clinical needs only. To keep it available for those who need it most, Kettering Health is asking that you do not use this line for:
- Questions about the ongoing technology outage
- Information and data security concerns
- Scheduling or non-urgent appointment requests
For the latest updates about the outage, please visit: ketteringhealth.org/system-wide-technology-outage
Before you call, have the following information ready:
- Your full name and date of birth
- Your doctor’s name and practice
- A brief summary of your clinical concern
- Your current medication list
- A phone number where doctors can reach you
Women’s Health patients experiencing urgent needs after-hours can find updated OB-GYN practice phone numbers at ketteringhealth.org/womens-health-after-hours-information.
