Written by: Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief of Campus Safety

Hospital emergency rooms in several states were forced to divert emergency vehicles to other facilities due to a slew of cybersecurity incidents on Thanksgiving Day.

In Tyler, Texas, UT Health East Texas wasn’t able to accept ambulances due to a network outage and was forced into lockdown, reports The Messenger. BSA Health System in Amarillo was also forced to divert because of a cybersecurity incident, reports ABC7 Amarillo.

In Pocatello, Idaho, Portneuf Medical Center experienced a network outage, which forced its emergency room to divert patients, reports East Idaho News.

In New Jersey, two hospitals shut down their emergency rooms on Thursday due to a cyberattack, reports APP. They include Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, and Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair.

In Topeka, Kansas, WIBW reports that the University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus was forced to practice standard downtime protocols on Thursday due to a possible cybersecurity incident.

Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Hillcrest HealthCare System was also hit on November 24, reports Tulsa World. It too was forced to divert some emergency department patients.

In Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Medical Center is also investigating a cybersecurity incident that led to the compromise of its database, reports The Record. A spokesperson would not reveal when the incident happened, but the hospital was added on Thanksgiving Day to the MEOW ransomware gang’s list of victims.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, KOAT is reporting that Lovelace Health System experienced a network outage that limited emergency care for patients.

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