Around 10 a.m. Thursday, UMC released a statement indicating that the outage "has necessitated the implementation of local and regional diversion of patients to ensure the safety and continuity of care." Thursday evening, UMC's facilities remained open across all access points, including emergency centers and urgent care clinics. However, the hospital will continue redirecting incoming emergency and non-emergency patients to nearby health facilities until the issue is resolved.
"Patient safety remains our top priority. We are implementing downtime procedures and accommodations wherever possible to minimize disruption to our patients and critical services," UMC stated.
Covenant Health System in Lubbock also issued a statement confirming that its main hospital, children’s hospital, and emergency departments remain operational despite UMC's situation. Covenant Health works closely with UMC to coordinate care and redirect patients smoothly.
UMC is actively investing in resolving the IT outage across its network and will continue to provide updates on the situation. The hospital has assured patients that those already admitted are not affected by the diversion measures.
As cyberattacks on healthcare systems become more frequent, UMC's response highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures in protecting patient care. UMC officials have emphasized their commitment to restoring full services as quickly as possible while ensuring patient safety throughout the process.
The hospital plans to keep the community informed as it diligently resolves the ongoing issues related to the ransomware attack.
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