Lake Charles Memorial Health System began mailing letters today to some of its patients whose information may have been involved in a recent cybersecurity incident.

On Oct. 21, LCMHS’s information security team detected unusual activity involving its computer network. LCMH took immediate action to contain the activity and investigate its cause. On Oct. 25, 2022, LCMH learned that an unauthorized third party gained access to its network. LCMH took additional steps to investigate the incident, including reporting it to law enforcement and launching an investigation with independent experts. The investigation determined the unauthorized access to LCMH’s computer network occurred between Oct. 20 and Oct. 21,  during which time the unauthorized third party accessed or obtained certain files from its systems.

LCMH thoroughly reviewed these files and determined that some patient information was contained within them, which may have included patient names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record or patient identification numbers, health insurance information, payment information, and/or limited clinical information regarding care received at LCMH. In some limited instances, patients’ Social Security numbers were also included. LCMH’s electronic medical record was not accessible to the unauthorized party.

“LCMH takes this matter very seriously and is continuing to take steps to enhance the security of its systems and the information it maintains to help prevent something like this from happening again,” the hospital said in a statement to the American Press. “LCMH is mailing letters to patients whose information may have been involved in this incident. For individuals whose Social Security number may have been involved, LCHM is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.”

Patients are encouraged to review statements from their health insurer and healthcare providers, and to contact them immediately if they see any services they did not receive. Patients with questions can call the dedicated call center at (855) 624-2986, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. More information is available at www.lcmh.com.