Methodist Homes of Alabama and Northwest Florida

The covered entity (CE), Methodist Homes of Alabama and Northwest Florida, discovered that an unauthorized user had access to its systems between October 2-14, 2024, via a ransomware attack. The breach affected the protected health information (PHI) of 8,711 individuals. The PHI involved names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, and other treatment information. The CE provided breach notification to the affected individuals, the media, the HHS Secretary, and posted substitute breach notice on its website. In response to the breach, the CE implemented a variety of additional security measures, additional training requirements, and a revised password management policy.