University of Vermont Medical Center aerial. Courtesy photo.
Dear Patients and Community Members,
Last week, the UVM Health Network experienced a confirmed cyberattack that has affected some of our systems.
We expect that it will take time to restore normal operations throughout the network. But our top priority is caring for our patients and we have well-practiced standby procedures in place to ensure that we are providing that care safely. Our urgent and emergency care locations are open and we encourage you to seek the care you need.
We take protecting patient privacy very seriously and have plans in place for situations where our network systems are affected. When we became aware of this event, we took quick action and followed our emergency procedures to protect patient information. We are working in partnership with state and federal law enforcement to determine the full scope of this attack and, if it is determined that any personal information has been compromised, we will notify those impacted and follow all established protocols.
The attack has caused variable impacts at each of our affiliate organizations (see below). While most are maintaining all services, you may experience slight delays in certain locations. Access to our patient portals, such as MyChart, is not available. Additionally, incoming email to the UVM Health Network is currently unavailable. Please use alternate means when contacting us. We apologize for any inconvenience you may experience.
For more detail on affected services by affiliate organization, please visit UVMHealth.org/cyberattack. We will keep this page updated with details as they are available.
Please know that we are working as hard and as quickly as we can to resolve these issues and return to normal operations.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
John R. Brumsted, MD
President and CEO, University of Vermont Health Network
Update on Cyberattack
Updated November 2nd at 2:30 pm.
The University of Vermont Health Network is making steady progress toward restoring systems to normal operations following last week's cyberattack event. We are dedicating additional internal resources to augment the effort. Our IT team is reviewing hundreds of different patient care and operations applications to ensure our systems are secure and have temporarily blocked incoming email as part of that work. We still do not know when full restoration will be complete.
At UVM Medical Center, outpatient radiology appointments are currently canceled. Screening mammography (all locations) and screening breast ultrasound exams (UHC/1 South Prospect St ONLY) are occurring on Tuesday, November 3. Patients in those areas with questions can call 802-847-3443 or 802-847-6625 for assistance.
Additionally, patients receiving cancer care at UVM Medical Center should contact their provider by phone before going in for appointments.
We understand the difficulty and uncertainty this has caused for our patients who rely on us for their care. We are incredibly grateful for the patience and support we have received from the communities we serve.
We 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. All media inquiries regarding the investigation should be directed to FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sarah Ruane at [email protected].
Urgent care is open at Fanny Allen and surgeries and outpatient appointments that were not rescheduled due to the cyberattack are proceeding safely. Air quality is being monitored in all areas of the building and all levels are reading as safe.
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.
- Some services and procedures may have been impacted and you will be contacted if your appointment or procedure needs to be postponed. Call your provider's office if you have concerns about an upcoming appointment.
- If you have a scheduled appointment, please bring your complete list of medications. You may be asked about your medical history.
- 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, based on triage by the trauma attending.
- We are open for other types of emergency care, such as strokes, heart attacks, and for other seriously ill adults and children.
- We are also open for other emergency surgery on a case-by-case basis.
- Some non-urgent elective procedures have been rescheduled.
Ambulatory (Outpatient) Visits
- Ambulatory outpatient visits are proceeding as scheduled.
Oncology (Hematology Oncology, Radiation Oncology & Surgical Oncology)
- Patients coming in for cancer care should call first to confirm their appointments.
Laboratory
- Our lab sites are open, but can only take urgent collections for patients with paper orders.
- All results will be delayed.
- Urgent lab results will be communicated by phone to the ordering provider.
- 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.
Radiology
- Breast Imaging: On Tuesday, Nov. 3, breast imaging will be open on a limited basis for preventative screening mammography (all locations) and screening breast ultrasound exams (UHC/1 South Prospect ONLY). If you were scheduled for either of these exams, please plan to come to your appointment at the site you were scheduled at, however expect delays as we work through our interim process. If you were scheduled for any other breast imaging exam, please do not come in at this time, unless you were contacted directly. We are working hard on a solution so we can get all scheduled breast imaging patients in. We will continue to give updates directing our patients on how to proceed with scheduled appointments.
- 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.
- For patients who have been unable to be seen, we will be in touch with you as soon as we can. For questions, please call 847-3443 or 847-6625.
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.
Visit the UVM Medical Center Site
Central Vermont Medical Center – Berlin, VT
Central Vermont Medical Center services remain available. Patients visiting practices and clinics should expect slightly longer wait times. Our lab and diagnostic imaging departments are asking patients to bring a written copy of their lab or imaging orders, which they will receive at their clinic visit. Access to the MyChart Patient Portal is not currently available. There is currently no need to call to confirm appointments. Please note that automated text reminders will not be sent in advance of appointments.
Visit the Central Vermont Medical Center Site
Porter Medical Center – Middlebury, VT
All Porter Medical Center services remain available and patients should come to their appointments unless they are contacted by Porter and told otherwise.
Visit the Porter Medical Center Site
Home Health & Hospice – Colchester, VT
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.
Visit the Home Health & Hospice Site
Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital – Plattsburgh, NY
The impact of the cyberattack at CVPH has been minimal and we continue to provide care for the community as usual. Our Physician Offices, however, are relying on their computer downtime procedures - using paper methods to communicate and care for their patients. While there may be slight delays in the offices, the staff is doing a remarkable job in keeping their focus on patient care.
Safeguard measures have been put in place by our IT Department to protect our systems from external threats. These measures do not affect our patients’ experience. Our focus remains on providing the care our community needs while support our affiliate partner, the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Visit the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Site
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 patients 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 their care, and we have not experienced any impacts to patient care services.
Visit the Alice Hyde Medical Center Site
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 their care, and we have not experienced any impacts to patient care services.