MILWAUKEE — Ascension continues to deal with the impact of a cyberattack on some of its systems.
The hack is affecting both patients and workers.
TMJ4 took calls, emails, and messages about concerns over canceled appointments and disrupted services on Thursday.
Ascension released a statement on Thursday evening stating that their electronic health records system, MyChart, some phone systems, and various systems utilized to order certain tests, procedures, and medications are all down.
"It's a big struggle happening right now for every person in the hospital," said Connie Smith, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
Smith has been with Ascension for 22 years. She and other union members are feeling the pressure right now.
"We're all kind of working in the dark," said Gavin Rice, a union member and ultrasound technician at Ascension St. Francis.
Both Rice and Smith said that they're both having to revert to writing down patient information by hand in some cases or having to retrieve archived medical information.
"We're kind of back to the systems that we moved away from 20 years ago," said Rice.
A spokesperson for Ascension said that, out of an abundance of caution, some non-emergent elective procedures, tests, and appointments have been temporarily paused as they work to bring systems back online.
"We know what it's like to have a patient cry and want their results, but we can't give it to them, and it just takes so much more time to get that to them," said Smith.
Ascension did not provide a timetable for when systems would return or the scope of the attack.
A spokesperson advised patients to bring their appointment notes on their symptoms and a list of current medications, prescription numbers, or prescription bottles so their care team can call in medication needs to pharmacies.
Read the full Ascension Update here.
On May 8, Ascension detected unusual activity in our network systems. We have determined this is a cybersecurity incident. We are working around the clock with internal and external advisors to investigate, contain, and restore our systems following a thorough validation and screening process. Our investigation and restoration work will take time to complete, and we do not have a timeline for completion.
Safely caring for patients remains our highest priority as we navigate this cybersecurity incident. We are actively supporting our ministries as they continue to provide safe, patient care with established downtime protocols and procedures, in which our workforce is well trained. It is expected that we will be utilizing downtime procedures for some time. Patients should bring to their appointment notes on their symptoms and a list of current medications and prescription numbers or the prescription bottles so their care team can call in medication needs to pharmacies.
Systems that are currently unavailable include our electronic health records system, MyChart (which enables patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), some phone systems, and various systems utilized to order certain tests, procedures and medications. We have implemented established protocols and procedures to address these particular system disruptions in order to continue to provide safe care to patients. Out of an abundance of caution, however, some non-emergent elective procedures, tests and appointments have been temporarily paused while we work to bring systems back online. Our teams are working directly with any patient whose appointment or procedure will need to be rescheduled. We understand the frustration this may cause and sincerely regret any inconvenience to our patients.
Due to downtime procedures, several hospitals are currently on diversion for emergency medical services in order to ensure emergency cases are triaged immediately. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please contact 911 and your local emergency services will bring you to the nearest hospital emergency room.
We are beyond grateful for the hard work and dedication of our care teams across the system, and their continued commitment to our patients. We also thank our patients and our community for their continued support and patience during this time as we work through a diligent, time-intensive process to restore systems as quickly, and as safely, as possible. To ensure all patients, staff, and stakeholders are kept informed during this event, we will continue to post updated information on our website as it becomes available."
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