Cybersecurity

Notice to Our Patients of Cybersecurity Incident

Lake Charles Memorial Health System (“LCMHS”) takes the privacy and security of our patients’ information very seriously. Regrettably, this notice concerns a cybersecurity incident that may have involved some of that information.

On October 21, 2022, LCMHS’s information security team detected unusual activity involving our computer network. We took immediate action to contain the activity and investigate its cause. On October 25, 2022, we learned that an unauthorized third party gained access to our network. We took additional steps to investigate the incident, including reporting it to law enforcement and launching an investigation with independent experts. The investigation determined that the unauthorized access to our computer network occurred between October 20 and October 21, 2022, during which time the unauthorized third party accessed or obtained certain files from our systems.

We reviewed these files and determined that some patient information was contained within them, which may have included patient names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record or patient identification numbers, health insurance information, payment information and/or limited clinical information regarding care received at LCMH. In some limited instances, patients’ Social Security numbers were also included. LCMH’s electronic medical record was not accessible to the unauthorized party.

Beginning December 23, 2022, we are mailing letters to patients whose information may have been involved in this incident. We are offering individuals whose Social Security number may have been included with complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Patients are encouraged to review statements from their health insurer and healthcare providers, and to contact them immediately if they see any services they did not receive.

LCMH deeply regrets any concern this incident may cause our patients. We take this matter very seriously and are continuing to take steps to enhance the security of our systems and the information we maintain to help prevent something like this from happening again.

Patients with questions can call the dedicated call center at 855.624.2986 Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Central Time.