News

Contact: Rochelle Williams

Grant Regional Health Center (“Grant Regional”) is providing notice of an incident that may affect the privacy of personal information. Grant Regional takes this incident seriously. This notice provides details of the incident, our response, and steps individuals may take to better protect against possible misuse of their personal information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

Grant Regional recently discovered suspicious activity in its email environment. Upon learning this, Grant Regional immediately launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the activity. The investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to one employee email account between March 20, 2023 and March 24, 2023. While Grant Regional is unable to determine what emails and attachments, if any, were reviewed by the unauthorized actor, Grant Regional undertook a comprehensive review of the contents of the email account to assess if any sensitive information was located within the email account. On May 9, 2023, Grant Regional completed this review and determined the data contained certain information related to current and former patients.

Grant Regional takes the confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in its care very seriously. Upon discovery of the incident, we immediately commenced an investigation and took steps to implement additional safeguards and review our policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security. The investigation determined the following types of information was stored within the email account: name and one or more of financial account information, date of birth, medical information, health insurance information, Taxpayer ID number and Social Security number. Grant Regional is mailing letters to potentially affected individuals for whom it has an address.

Since discovery of the event, we implemented additional security measures to further protect information. Although we are unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of any information, we are providing notice of this incident out of an abundance of caution.

If you have questions, or need assistance, please call 608-723-1900.

We encourage potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their accounts, explanations of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity, and to report any suspicious activity to the affiliated institutions immediately. Individuals may contact the three major credit reporting agencies for advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on credit files. The relevant contact information is below.

Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

You have the right to place a “security freeze” on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:

Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094, 1-888-909-8872, www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Equifax, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788, 1-800-685-1111, www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.);
7. If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.

As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on your file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a one-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com/fraud/center.html

TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resource/place-fraud-alert

Equifax, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348, 1-888-766-0008, www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General.

The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General.