Covenant Health cyberattack disrupts New England hospitals

Covenant Health, a nonprofit Catholic health system that serves patients in New England and parts of Pennsylvania, confirmed that it has suffered a cyberattack that is causing connectivity issues at several hospitals.

Disruptions began on May 26, a spokesperson told local news outlets, when Covenant Health became aware of irregularities impacting connectivity across the organization.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately discontinued access to all data systems in our hospitals, clinics and provider practices," the spokesperson said.

The websites of Covenant-owned St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire, and St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, Maine, both show pop-up messages to patients regarding the connectivity issues.

"St. Joseph’s is currently experiencing a temporary system issue that may affect phones and internet access. Some services may be intermittently unavailable. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please dial 911," the notices state. "We recognize this may impact your experience. Our team is working around the clock to resolve the issue and restore full services as quickly as possible."

St. Joseph Hospital in New Hampshire has also modified its outpatient lab services. Labs will only be available on the main hospital campus, and services can only be delivered if patients have a physical order in hand, the notice states.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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