HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice
Posted on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal with a submission date of Aug. 16, 2017.
- Organization as reported
- Salina Family Healthcare Center, KS
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Hacking/IT Incident
- Location of information as reported
- Desktop Computer, Electronic Medical Record, Network Server
- Submission date
- Aug. 16, 2017
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14092, row:5231)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
On June 18, 2017, Salina Family Healthcare Center, the covered entity (CE), suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted some of its computer workstations and network servers, affecting approximately 77,337 individuals. The types of protected health information (PHI) involved included demographic, clinical, and health insurance information. In order to continue to see patients, the CE immediately restored its computers and servers from a recent backup. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals affected and the media. Following the breach, the CE engaged an independent computer forensics expert to determine how the incident occurred and if information had been accessed by an unauthorized third party. The CE improved safeguards by scanning its network for viruses, upgrading its servers to improve network security, and limiting internet access to minimize risk exposure. The CE also encouraged its employees to be vigilant when opening emails that come from unknown sources, provided additional network security training to its IT staff, and provided additional training on malware threats to all employees. OCR obtained documented assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted above.