Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network said in a statement today that it has made additional progress in accessing schedules and continues to work on restoring systems impacted by last week's cyberattack event. UVM Medical Center President and COO Stephen Leffler, MD, said at a press briefing Friday afternoon that cancer patients are the most impacted. He could not say how long it would be before all systems were back online, but that it would be several days.
Some patients have been shifted to other hospitals in the system, including Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. The computer systems needed for precision chemo and radiological services are not fully back up. Additional staffing is required in many cases to keep up with the paperwork. Cancer patients served at UVMMC have gone from about 40 per day to 15. Along with treating some patients at other hospitals, UVMMC is expanding hours to include treatment seven days a week.
Along with cancer treatment, the IT department is prioritizing pharmacological systems, he said.
Leffler said he is not aware of any ransom being asked as part of this cyberattack (as there has been recently at other hospitals across the country) and directed those questions to the FBI.
UVMHN includes the UVM Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center, Porter Medical Center and Home Health & Hospice in Vermont, and across the lake in New York, Alice Hyde Medical Center, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital and Elizabethtown Community Hospital.
UVMMC has been most impacted and this includes the MyChart patient portal, but most patient services and all emergency services are available.
He said the cyberattack came in through the UVMMC system, thus causing the biggest impact there.
Phone lines in and out have been impacted. Patients having difficulty reaching the hospital should call (802) 847-8888.
The UVMHN statement said: "Our IT team has been able to access patient schedules at all Network affiliates for the next few days. Work will continue on retrieving schedules for all of next week and this will take place until systems are restored.
"While there has been significant and steady progress toward recovery, we know the impact of this cyberattack has been felt by some patients more than others. We are working vigorously to restore systems that have negatively affected our ability to provide some cancer treatments. This a critical area of service and a top priority for us. We are urgently working to expand our capacity to provide chemotherapy at UVM Medical Center to seven days per week and three evenings per week as soon as we can add additional staff. We are also working to schedule some patients for treatment at Central Vermont Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. We deeply apologize for any distress this may have caused.
"Our employees – across the Network and all departments – continue to face this challenge head-on. They are maintaining most Network operations and providing high-level care to our patients under very difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, some of our employees at UVM Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center have seen their jobs disrupted by this event. At UVM Medical Center, 300 employees are impacted -- and 129 have accepted some amount of temporary reassignment to assist our recovery efforts. At Central Vermont Medical Center, about 30 employees have been impacted and nearly all have been reassigned. We will continue trying to match employees with temporary assignments while systems are impacted.
"The UVM Health Network will continue to provide systems and patient service updates when they are available."
The latest updates and information can be found at www.uvmhealth.org/cyberattack.
Cyberattack: Information & Updates
During the week of October 25, the UVM Health Network experienced a confirmed cyberattack affecting some of our systems. While we have well-practiced standby procedures in place to continue providing safe care, the attack has caused variable impacts on services at our affiliate organizations. Please see status updates below for information on how you may be impacted.
Quick action was taken to protect patient information, following emergency procedures. We are working with state and federal law enforcement to determine the full scope of this attack. If any personal information has been compromised, we will notify those impacted and follow established protocols.
Latest Service Status by Affiliate:
Updated November 6th at 12:30 p.m.
To view affiliate specific service updates please click on the links below.
UVM Medical Center – Burlington, VT
The University of Vermont Medical Center is experiencing outages across a number of systems. Impact on patients is as follows:
- Our urgent and emergency care locations are open and we encourage you to seek the care you need.
- If you need to schedule a non-urgent appointment or contact us about a non-urgent matter, we ask that you wait until this situation is resolved.
Surgeries & Procedures
- We are open for emergency care. This includes traumas that come in through the Emergency Department, as well as traumas from the region.
- We are open for other types of emergency care, such as strokes, heart attacks, and for other seriously ill adults and children.
- We are open for other emergency surgeries on a case-by-case basis.
- We are open for urgent and emergency cardiac catheterization.
- Some non-urgent elective procedures have been rescheduled and affected patients have been notified.
- All patients coming in for endoscopies should bring with them a current list of medications and their pre- procedure packet to their appointment.
Outpatient (Ambulatory) Visits
- Beginning Thursday, Nov. 5, we will be unable to access appointment schedules and some or all patient information. If you have an appointment, please bring your medication list (or bottles), any prior after visit summary you may have from a previous appointment or a discharge summary if recently discharged from the hospital.
- Patients scheduled for the following tests should call 802-847-2864 before coming in:
- Exercise-induced bronchospasm
- Cardiopulmonary stress test
- Methacholine challenge
Cardiology
- Cardiology testing appointments scheduled for November 5, 6, and 9, 2020 for Echocardiograms and Nuclear Stress Tests have been canceled.
- Appointments for Exercise Tolerance Test and Cardiac Implanted Device checks are being performed. Please call 802-847-4600 to confirm your appointments.
Outpatient Infusion (Non-Chemotherapy)
- For patients receiving an infusion on Shepherdson 4, please call 802-318-7527 before coming in for your appointment.
Oncology (Hematology Oncology, Radiation Oncology & Surgical Oncology)
- Patients coming in for cancer care should call first to confirm their appointments.
Infusion
- Shepherdson 4 Infusion: Patients please call 802-318-7527 before coming in for your appointment.
Laboratory
- The outpatient lab collection site at the ACC will remain open for urgent/emergency collections. Patients MUST arrive with a paper order. Hours are Monday – Friday, 7:00 am - 6:00 pm, Saturday & Sunday 7:00 am - 1:00 pm. Outpatient lab collections sites at the Fanny Allen campus, Blair Park and UHC will be closed until further notice.
- All results will be delayed.
- Urgent lab results will be communicated by phone to the ordering provider who will contact you directly.
- Positive COVID-19 test results will be communicated by phone to the ordering provider who will contact you directly. Negative results will be faxed to the ordering provider. If you need results urgently, please request that your provider call the lab customer service phone line.
Interventional Pain
- We are not currently able to do interventional pain procedures in the Interventional Pain Clinic at 62 Tilley Drive. Starting 11/5, we do not have schedules to notify patients that they should not come in for their procedures. Patients should call the clinic at 802-847-3737 with questions.
Radiology
- Breast Imaging: Until further notice, Breast Imaging is open on a limited basis for screening mammograms (your annual or biannual mammogram) at all our locations. We are also open on a limited basis for screening breast ultrasound exams (UHC/1 South Prospect ONLY). If you are scheduled for either of these exams, you should plan to come to your appointment at the site scheduled. If you are not sure if you should come to your scheduled appointment or have any questions, please call 802-847-3443 or 802-847-6625. Upon arrival for your scheduled appointment (screening mammogram or breast ultrasound), please anticipate delays as we work through our interim process.
- Please note: patients scheduled for any other breast imaging exams (biopsies, diagnostic mammogram or breast MRIs) should not come in at this time, unless you were contacted directly by a member of our staff confirming your appointment.
- Other Outpatient Radiology: Scans are postponed. If you are scheduled for an appointment we may not be able to access your contact information to reach you. Please do not come in. We will be in touch soon to reschedule.
Sleep Program
- We are cancelling all sleep studies at this time.
Pharmacy
- Retail, Specialty, Mail Order and Home Infusion Pharmacies are operational and offering all services.
MyChart
- There is no access to our MyChart patient portal.
NOTE: UVM Medical Center patients, if you are having issues contacting your physician or clinic, please call 802-847-8888.
Central Vermont Medical Center – Berlin, VT
Central Vermont Medical Center services remain available. Patients visiting practices and clinics should expect slightly longer wait times.
- If you have an appointment at a CVMC practice, please call the practice 24 hours in advance to confirm. This request is for all appointments starting on Thursday November 5 until further notice. To keep call volume steady and manageable, please wait until 24 hours before your appointment begins. For security purposes, we are unable to receive email at this time, so please be sure to call.
- Click here for a list of CVMC practices and phone numbers.
- There is no need to call to confirm hospital services such as surgeries, blood draw, lab and imaging, which are all unaffected by the cyberattack.
Laboratory
- If possible, please bring a written copy of your lab or imaging orders with you to our lab and diagnostic imaging departments. You will receive the written order at your clinic visit.
MyChart Patient Portal
- Access to the MyChart Patient Portal is not currently available. Please note that automated text reminders will not be sent in advance of appointments.
Porter Medical Center – Middlebury, VT
Porter Medical Center services remain available. Patients visiting practices and clinics should expect slightly longer wait times.
- Our urgent and emergency care locations are open, and we encourage you to seek the care you need. No access to past patient records.
- If you have an appointment at one of our practices, please call 24 hours in advance of your appointment. To keep call volume steady and manageable, please wait until 24 hours before your appointment begins. For security purposes, email is limited at this time, so please be sure to call.
- If you have any questions about your appointment, view our list of practice locations and phone numbers.
Laboratory
- Please call your providers office before going to the Lab.
MyChart Patient Portal
- Access to the MyChart Patient Portal is not currently available.
- Please note that automated text reminders will not be sent in advance of appointments.
Home Health & Hospice – Colchester, VT
We are maintaining all in-home patient care services and all services at McClure Miller Respite House. Electronic communication with the UVM Medical Center has been disrupted by the outage and we are coordinating closely with the UVM Health Network to address this issue. Added safeguards have been put in place to protect our systems from external threats. This will not change patients' experience or how we deliver their care, and we have not experienced any impacts to patient care services.
Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital – Plattsburgh, NY
CVPH is asking all patients with appointments at these physician offices to call 24 hours in advance of their appointment. This request is for all appointments with physician offices beginning Thursday, Nov. 5 until further notice.
On Nov. 5, our practices’ access to appointment schedules and our ability to send a reminder call for your appointment will be temporarily restricted, so the advanced call will help reduce wait times by ensuring we’re ready for you on arrival. If you are unable to call 24 hours prior to your appointment, you will still be seen.
To keep call volume steady and manageable, we are asking you to wait until 24 hours before your appointment and to call during our normal business hours (8am – 4:30 pm). If you receive voicemail, please leave your name, date of birth, date of appointment and return phone number. Your call is very important and will be returned promptly. For security purposes, we are unable to receive email at this time, so please be sure to call.
As always, please bring your list of medications with you to your appointment.
Alice Hyde Medical Center – Malone, NY
Our major systems are operational and all of our patient care services are available. Please note that our Hospital Patient Portal is down, so you will not be able to access this platform until further notice. Our Physician Practice Patient Portal remains accessible.
Electronic communication with the UVM Medical Center has been disrupted by the outage and we are coordinating closely with the UVM Health Network to address this issue. Added safeguards have been put in place to protect our systems from external threats. This will not change patients' experience or how we deliver care. We have not experienced any impacts to patient care services.
Elizabethtown Community Hospital – Elizabethtown, NY
Our major systems are operational and all of our patient care services are available. Electronic communication with the UVM Medical Center has been disrupted by the outage and we are coordinating closely with the UVM Health Network to address this issue. Added safeguards have been put in place to protect our systems from external threats. This will not change patients' experience or how we deliver care. We have not experienced any impacts to patient care services.
Source: UVMHN 11.6.2020