Ascension gives update on cyberattack; progress coming

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ascension Via Christi and the City of Wichita continue to deal with the aftereffects of cyberattacks that happened earlier in May.

The one that hit Ascension was a ransomware attack discovered on May 8.

On Friday, Ascension posted an update, saying it is working around the clock with industry-leading cybersecurity experts to restore operations across its network safely.

“We are hopeful that after the weekend, our patients and clinicians will see progress across our points of care,” an Ascension spokesperson said. “Many of our vendors and partners have also started the process of reconnecting to our network and resuming services with Ascension, which should help to accelerate our overall recovery.”

Ascension’s hospitals and medical facilities are open and providing care. The update includes a note of gratitude to Ascension clinicians who are working “under challenging circumstances.”

The Ascension “Cybersecurity Event Update” website shows that these are some of the systems that are down because of the cyberattack:

• Some electronic health records systems,
• Some patient portals (which enable patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers) and
• Some phone systems and various systems used to order certain tests, procedures and medications.

Ascension says if it is determined that personal health information was accessed during the incident, it will notify the “applicable individuals and parties in accordance with” its obligations.

To watch for updates specific to Ascension’s Kansas facilities, click here .

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