RACINE — It's been one week of an active ransomware attack at Ascension Healthcare and we're beginning to learn of more serious consequences for patients.
Since TMJ4 broke the story, we've told you about canceled appointments, prescriptions being written out by hand, and patients who can not receive treatment for major illnesses.
Now, a funeral home tells us they're having trouble going forward with funeral arrangements because death certificates are not able to be signed.
A Racine resident shared on social media that his mother can't be cremated because Ascension All Saints can't confirm her cause of death due to the outage.
TMJ4's Mariam Mackar got on the phone with that resident, who said his mother's funeral home has been working tirelessly to get a signed death certificate so the cremation process can begin.
Chris Chvilicek is the director at Wilson Funeral Home in Racine, who is working with the resident Mackar spoke to.
"If the doctors cannot access medical records that will cause delays in obtaining cause of death for cremation," explained Chvilicek.
"For us here at Wilson Funeral Home, and I’m sure at other service entities, we're having some difficulties and delays with the services that they can provide for their families."
Not only are death certificates vital for arranging burials and cremation but they're also needed to access life insurance and social security.
Chvilicek tells me when he started in the industry 27 years ago, they'd have to deliver documents to doctors by hand and wait for them to sign them to continue their arrangements.
A method they've had to go back to this week.
"We’ve been successful a little bit, but not so much."
It isn't just Wilson Funeral Home.
A representative with Heritage Funeral Home in Milwaukee, who works closely with Ascension in St. Francis, says they haven't been able to get responses from the staff on death certificates since phone lines are still down.
Ascension says they are working day and night to resolve the issue but as for when that will be, no timeline has been given.
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