Notice of Data Privacy Incident

Jackson County Hospital District (“Jackson Hospital”) is providing notice of a recent incident that may impact the privacy of some personal and/or medical information. Jackson Hospital is unaware of any misuse of individual information and is providing this notice out of an abundance of caution.

On or about January 9, 2022, Jackson Hospital observed unusual activity related to the inaccessibility of certain systems within our network.  We immediately began to investigate to better understand the nature and scope of this activity.  The preliminary internal investigation revealed several systems were potentially subject to unauthorized access. We began working with third-party cybersecurity specialists to determine the full scope and impact of this incident.  On or about January 11, 2022, the investigation confirmed an unknown actor accessed Jackson Hospital’s systems and took certain, limited data from our systems.

Jackson Hospital took immediate steps to contain the threat and enable hospital operations, including services to our patients, to continue uninterrupted.  We simultaneously launched a full investigation designed to understand the nature and scope of what occurred, what information was stored on impacted systems at the time of the incident, and to whom that information relates. The investigation remains ongoing at this time.

The types of personal information that may have been accessible to the unauthorized actor include: name, address, date of birth, contact information, Social Security number, medical history, medical condition or treatment information, medical record number, diagnosis code, patient account number, Medicare/Medicaid number, financial account information, and username/password.

Jackson Hospital takes the incident and security of personal information in its care seriously. Since discovering this incident, Jackson Hospital launched an extensive investigation, working with third-party specialists, to assess the security of relevant systems and reduce the likelihood of a similar future incident. As part of our ongoing commitment to the privacy of personal information in our care, we are working to review our existing policies and procedures and to implement additional administrative and technical safeguards to further secure the information in our systems. Jackson Hospital also notified federal law enforcement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other state regulators.

Although Jackson Hospital is unaware of the misuse of any personal information impacted by this incident, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing account statements and explanations of benefits for unusual activity. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the appropriate insurance company, health care provider, or financial institution. 

Individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident can call Jackson Hospital’s dedicated, toll-free number at 855-604-1840, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time (except major U.S. holidays).  Individuals may also write to Jackson Hospital’s Privacy Officer at 4250 Hospital Drive, Marianna, Florida 32446. Additional resources available to individuals can be found below.

Jackson Hospital is committed to safeguarding personal information and will continue our ongoing efforts to enhance the protections in place to secure the information in our care.

Best Practices

Although Jackson Hospital is unaware of any misuse of personal information as a result of this incident, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements and explanation of benefits, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.  Under U.S. law, you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.  To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228.  You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

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.

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, 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 credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

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.

If your username and password were impacted, it is recommended that you promptly change your password and security question and answer, as applicable, or take other steps appropriate to protect the potentially accessibly online account information and all other online accounts for which the same username, email address, password, and security question and answer are used,

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 202-727-3400; and oag@dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-528-8662 or 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us. Jackson Hospital is located at 4250 Hospital Drive, Marianna, Florida 32466.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.  Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator.  You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here.  Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov/.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov.  Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. It has not yet been confirmed that any Rhode Island resident has been impacted by this incident.