NOTICE OF DATA EVENT

May 8, 2023 – Culbertson Memorial Hospital (“Culbertson” or “We”) recently discovered an incident that may have impacted the privacy of information related to certain patients and current or former employees. As we continue to investigate and work toward notifying impacted individuals directly, we are providing information about the event, our response, and steps potentially impacted individuals can take to better protect against the possible misuse of their information should they feel it is appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On March 30, 2023, Culbertson became aware of suspicious activity related to certain computer systems. We immediately launched an investigation, with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, to secure our network and determine the nature and scope of the activity. The investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to Culbertson’s network between March 27, 2023 and March 30, 2023 and the unauthorized actor had the ability to acquire certain information stored on the network during the period of access. Therefore, Culbertson is conducting a comprehensive review of the of the data determined to be at risk to assess what sensitive information is contained therein and to whom the information relates. Once this comprehensive review is complete, we plan to mail notification letters directly to potentially impacted individuals which will include resources that individuals can reference to further protect their information.

What Information was Affected? The types of potentially impacted information for patients may include name, date of birth, Social Security number, medical diagnosis, treatment information, and health insurance information. The types of information potentially impacted for current and former employees may include name, date of birth, Social Security number, and financial account information.

How Will Individuals Know If They Are Affected By This Incident? Culbertson plans to mail notice letters to individuals whose protected information was contained in the data at issue and for whom they have a valid mailing address.

What We are Doing. We take this event and the security of your information very seriously. Upon learning of this event, we immediately took steps to secure our network and we are working to implement additional administrative and technical safeguards to further secure the information in our care. Notice was also provided to federal law enforcement and will be provided to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

What Affected Individuals Can Do. Potentially affected individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing their account statements and explanation of benefits for unusual activity. Additional information can be found below in the Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information below and in the notification letters that will be sent to affected individuals.

For More Information. If you have questions, please call the dedicated assistance line we established at 217-322-5269, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central, Monday through Friday. You may also write to Culbertson Memorial Hospital at 238 S Congress St, Rushville, IL 62681.

Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information

Monitor your credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity. Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of your credit report.

Place a fraud alert on your credit file. Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a one-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

Place a security freeze on your credit file. As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.

Should you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Additional Information

You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.