St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC, Provides Notice of Data Privacy Incident

PHILADELPHIA, July 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Although unaware of any actual or attempted misuse, St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC, the former owner of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, is providing notice of a data privacy event impacting patient protected health information related to certain former patients. St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC filed for bankruptcy in June 2019, was sold to STC OpCo, LLC in December 2019, and is now operating under new ownership and new management. 

What Happened? 
On June 2, 2020, St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC, the former owner of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, was notified that, in May 2019, before the bankruptcy filing, a hospital employee sent an email to a third party that included an attachment inadvertently containing hidden protected health information. It is unclear whether the information on the attachment was actually viewed or accessed by the recipient or whether there was any misuse of the information by the recipient or any other party.

What information was involved?
The information did not include Social Security numbers, addresses, or other sensitive financial account information. The file included names, ages, locations & dates of service, billing code information, diagnosis codes and descriptions, and limited health insurance information, such as the names of health insurance companies for payment, and names and charge amounts for services provided to certain hospital patients

How will individuals know if they are affected by this event?
St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC is mailing letters to the individuals for whom they have current addresses whose protected information was contained in the affected email attachment. If an individual did not receive a letter but would like to know if their information was affected, the individual may call (866) 771-0559, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

What can affected individuals do?
Even though no social security numbers, addresses, or other sensitive financial account information was in the file, it is recommended that individuals keep a close watch on their bank statements, credit card statements, personal mail and other bills and financial statements for any suspicious or unauthorized activity. Individuals should report any unauthorized activity to their bank or credit card companies.

What we are doing.
To help prevent such an incident from happening again, St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC has asked the new owner of the hospital to review its policies and procedures for the electronic transmission of individually identifiable health information. The new owners have committed to taking additional precautions, as may be necessary.

Whom should individuals contact for more information?
If individuals have questions or would like additional information, they may call (866) 771-0559, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

SOURCE St. Christopher's Healthcare, LLC