A ransomware attack has forced the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) to suspend operations at all of its clinics across the state and cancel elective procedures, disrupting healthcare for thousands of patients. The attack, which began Thursday, compromised the medical center’s IT network and critical systems, including its electronic health records platform, Epic.
LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, confirmed the cyberattack at a press event. “Early this morning, we sustained a cyber attack, which impacted our IT network and many of our systems, including our electronic medical records system, EPIC,” Woodward said. “We have triggered our emergency operations plan: this impacts all medical center locations.”
While hospitals and emergency departments remain open, with downtime protocols in effect, the closure of the roughly three dozen clinics has led to the cancellation of appointments and surgeries. UMMC officials stated that they are working to prioritize ongoing, time-sensitive care and are utilizing paper documentation in place of electronic systems. Patients with scheduled appointments, including chemotherapy treatments, have been notified of the cancellations and are being contacted to reschedule.
The FBI is assisting UMMC in investigating the attack and working to restore systems. Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff, speaking at the press conference, stated the agency is “surging resources, both locally and nationally, into this incident to create sure that we are standing alongside with UMMC and their vendors.” Eikhoff declined to provide specifics regarding the type of ransomware involved or the origin of the attack, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Woodward acknowledged that the full extent of the intrusion is still unknown. “To utilize a medical phrase — we have stopped the bleeding,” she said. “And while we recognize much more now than we did 24 hours ago, the extent and the scope of the intrusion is still not fully understood.” She added that hospital officials were in communication with the attackers and were working with cybersecurity specialists to determine next steps.
As of Friday, all UMMC clinics remained closed, and elective surgeries scheduled for that day were cancelled. The dialysis clinic at the Jackson Medical Mall remains operational and open for scheduled appointments, according to UMMC updates. Woodward stated that the medical center is committed to restoring full operations as quickly as possible, stating, “I can’t tell you when — but I can promise as soon as we possibly can — we will be back up and running full steam ahead. The poor guys won’t preserve us down.”
