Cyberattack causes system-wide outage at Kettering Health

Kettering Health is responding to a cyberattack that caused a system-wide technology outage, resulting in inpatient and outpatient procedure cancellations. Kettering Health operates 14 medical centers and more than 120 outpatient facilities across western Ohio.

According to a statement posted on its website, Kettering Health began experiencing a system-wide outage on the morning of May 20, 2025, which limited its ability to access certain patient care systems.

As a result, all elective inpatient and outpatient procedures across all Kettering Health facilities were cancelled for May 20. The health system's call center also experienced an outage. Although elective procedures were cancelled, the organization's emergency rooms in clinics remained open for patient care.

Later in the morning on May 20, Kettering Health confirmed that the outage was caused by a cyberattack resulting from unauthorized access to its network.

"We have taken steps to contain and mitigate this activity and are actively investigating and monitoring the situation," Kettering Health stated. "We will continue to provide updates as appropriate."

In addition to suffering an outage, Kettering Health warned patients that scam calls had occurred in connection with the outage. In the calls, people claiming to be Kettering Health employees requested payments for medical expenses.

"While it is customary for Kettering Health to contact patients by phone to discuss payment options for medical bills, out of an abundance of caution, we will not be making calls to ask for or receive payment over the phone until further notice," the organization said, encouraging patients who receive scam calls to report it to local law enforcement.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Jill McKeon has covered healthcare cybersecurity and privacy news since 2021.