Dallam Hartley Counties Hospital District

The Dallam Hartley Counties Hospital District (DHCHD) in Dalhart, Texas, experienced a significant cybersecurity incident that was first identified on September 28, 2022. This breach involved unauthorized access to the hospital district’s network, which occurred between September 27 and September 28, 2022. The unauthorized actor(s) managed to acquire a subset of files containing sensitive patient information. The compromised data included patient names, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, demographic information, and limited medical information. Importantly, the electronic medical record application of DHCHD was not accessed during this incident[1][3][5][7].

Following the discovery of the breach, DHCHD took immediate action by initiating an investigation with the help of a third-party forensic firm, implementing measures to contain the incident, and reporting the breach to law enforcement authorities. The investigation confirmed that the unauthorized access was indeed a hacking incident, with data theft confirmed[2][5]. As a result of this breach, the personal information of 69,835 individuals was affected[2][5].

In response to the incident, DHCHD began mailing letters to the affected patients on November 23, 2022, to inform them about the breach and the steps being taken to address it. The hospital district also established a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer any questions from patients regarding the incident. To mitigate the potential impact on the affected individuals, DHCHD offered complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services[1][3][5][7].

To prevent future incidents, DHCHD has committed to enhancing the security of its systems. This includes reviewing and updating their security processes to better protect patient information against unauthorized access or theft[1][3][5][7][11].

The DHCHD operates several healthcare facilities in the Dalhart area, including Coon Memorial Hospital, Dalhart Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, Dalhart Family Medicine Clinic, Coon Memorial Home Health & Hospice, High Country Community Rural Health Clinic, Legacy Assisted Living, and Coon Memorial Nursing Home. The district employs more than 223 people and generates approximately $23 million in annual revenue[3].

This cybersecurity incident is part of a larger trend of increasing attacks on healthcare organizations, highlighting the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive patient information[2][9][11].

Citations:

1. https://dhchd.org/notice-of-data-incident/
2. https://www.hipaajournal.com/november-2022-healthcare-data-breach-report/
3. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/dallam-hartley-counties-hospital-7954836/
4. https://www.newschannel10.com/2019/08/05/dallam-hartley-reaching-stormready-status-preparation-severe-weather/
5. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cybersecurity/hacker-steals-data-of-nearly-70-000-patients-from-texas-health-system.html
6. https://www.linkedin.com/in/loree-tamayo-157bb067
7. https://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com/posts/Dallam-Hartley-Counties-Hospital-District-Suffers-Cybersecurity-Attack–28102
8. https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/commonspirit-confirms-network-accessed-a-week-before-ransomware-attack
9. https://www.idstrong.com/sentinel/texas-hospital-district-data-breach/
10. https://www.newschannel10.com/story/36749630/remains-found-arrests-made-frazier-investigation/
11. https://healthitsecurity.com/news/latest-healthcare-data-breaches-impact-providers-across-the-country
12. https://thefern.org/2020/09/after-a-farmworker-in-rural-texas-died-of-complications-from-covid-19-his-family-and-federal-investigators-want-answers/
13. https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/seventh-court-of-appeals/2015/07-14-00297-cv.html
14. https://www.texasobserver.org/larsen-farms-dalhart-farmworker-death/
15. https://www.hipaajournal.com/one-brooklyn-health-dealing-with-ongoing-cyber-incident/