Ascension hospital cyber attack disrupts patient's visit for potential cancer diagnosis

Ascension hospital cyber attack impacting patient care

According to the hospital group, 140 Ascension locations are affected by the cyber attack, as well as 40 senior living facilities. One patient FOX 2 spoke to said he saw people leaving the Southfield hospital amid a disruption in operations at the center.

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A patient at Ascension Providence checked himself into the Southfield hospital this week amid fears that his cancer had returned. Instead, he found himself witnessing the fallout from a cyber attack that targeted more than a hundred hospitals around the U.S.

The chaos was on display Wednesday while Zackery Lopez waited hours for pain medication - a request that went unanswered for seven hours before a nurse finally brought him some relief.

During that time, Lopez said he saw patients checking themselves out of Ascension Providence, located on Nine Mile.

"Right now it is crazy. Nurses are running around. Doctors are running around. There’s no computers whatsoever they can use," he said. "So, they’re actually using charts."

Using the physical copy of someone's medical data wouldn't be an issue for Lopez if he wasn't concerned that his personal information was at risk. But he told FOX 2 he hasn't gotten a satisfying answer.

"They really didn’t tell me if it was protected or not," he said. "They really kind of just brushed it off when I asked them. They say they’re trying to get everything back on, back on track."

Lopez first checked himself into Ascension on Tuesday around 2 p.m. due to internal bleeding. He got admitted by a doctor, but was told he would have to wait for a room. As of Wednesday night, he still hadn't gotten into a room.

According to the hospital group, 140 Ascension locations are affected by the cyber attack, as well as 40 senior living facilities.

In a statement to FOX 2, the hospital said it first noticed "unusual activity" on its network on Wednesday.

"Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible. We have notified the appropriate authorities and are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation."