At Community Tri-County Healthcare (“Community”), we take the privacy and security of personal information seriously. Thus, we are notifying individuals of an event that may affect the security of certain individual’s personal information. As an initial matter, while our investigation is still ongoing, to date, we have no indication that the impacted data has been or will be used to commit identity theft or fraud. Please also be aware that this incident did not disrupt or interfere with care provided at Community. Nonetheless, we are providing information about the event, our response to it, and ways to help prevent any potential harm.
What Happened? On November 3, 2023, Community became aware of a cyber-incident affecting some of its computer systems. Community immediately took steps to contain the incident and to restore its affected systems. Community launched an investigation into the incident with the assistance of third-party forensic experts. Through our investigation, we determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to certain documents and information within Community’s systems. Although we have no evidence of any identity theft in connection with this incident, we reviewed documents on these impacted systems to determine what, if any, personal information was contained within them. The investigation determined that some personal information and/or protected health information was included within the potentially affected data. We were able to identify potentially affected individuals between December 19-22, 2023. To date, we know of no actual or attempted identity theft associated with the affected information as a result of this incident.
What Information Was Involved? The information that may have been impacted by this incident could include one or more of the following: name, address, phone number, date of birth, patient account number, date(s) of services, healthcare provider name, insurance account information, procedure code(s), and name(s) of prescribed medications. However, the information did not include detailed clinical or medical record information or files, no Social Security Numbers, no financial account numbers, including no credit or debit card numbers.
What Are We Doing? Upon learning of this incident, Community moved quickly to investigate and to assess and implement additional security measures addressing the affected systems and the threat identified. As part of our ongoing commitment to the security of personal information, we implemented measures to further enhance network security and minimize the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future. We also notified federal law enforcement (the Federal Bureau of Investigation), and we are in the process of notifying appropriate governmental agencies. To the extent required by applicable law, we will be providing notice to potentially affected individuals for whom we have a valid mailing address, so that they may take further steps to protect their information as appropriate.
What Can You Do? We encourage everyone to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, explanation of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect any errors over the next 12 to 24 months. Please review the information contained on the following section, Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information.
For More Information. Further information about how to protect personal information appears on the following section, Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information. If you have additional questions regarding this incident, please call our dedicated assistance line at 888-541-1625 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday – Friday, excluding major U.S. holidays. Representatives will be available for the next ninety (90) days. You may also contact us at Community Hospital, 805 Friendship Rd., Tallassee, AL 36078; Phone: (334) 283-6541.
Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information
Monitor Your Accounts
As a precautionary measure, we recommend that everyone review their account statements and credit reports closely. If you detect any suspicious activity on an account, promptly notify the financial institution or company with which the account is maintained. You should also promptly report any fraudulent activity or suspected identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, your state attorney general, and/or the Federal Trade Commission.
Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below 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 1-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. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information: full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); Social Security number; date of birth; addresses for the prior two to five years; proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; a legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and 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 obtain a credit report, or place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your report, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
TransUnion
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094
888-909-8872
www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
Equifax
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
Additional Information
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. Complaints filed with the FTC will be added to the FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, which is a database made available to law enforcement agencies. 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.
Contact Information for State Attorney Generals
For Alabama residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: 501 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104; 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7335; or www.alabamaag.gov.
For California residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: 1300 "I" Street Sacramento, CA 95814-2919. Phone: 916-445-9555; or https://oag.ca.gov/.
For Florida residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: PL-01 The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050; 866-966-7226; or www.myfloridalegal.com.
For Georgia residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: 40 Capitol Square, SW, Atlanta, GA 30334; 404-458-3600; or www.law.georgia.gov.
For Illinois residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: 500 South Second Street
Springfield, IL 62701; (217) 782-1090; https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/.
For Indiana residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: 302 W. Washington St., 5th Floor, Indianapolis, IN 46204; 317-232-6201; https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/.
For Louisiana residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: P.O. Box 94005, Baton Rouge, LA 70804; 225-326-6079, 225-326-6757 or 877-297-0995; https://www.ag.state.la.us/.
For Missouri residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102; 573-751-3321; https://ago.mo.gov/.
For Mississippi residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: P.O. Box 220, Jackson MS 39205
550 High Street, Jackson MS 39201; 601.359.3680; https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/.
For New Jersey residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: RJ Hughes Justice Complex 25 Market Street, Box 080. Trenton, NJ 08625-0080; 609-984-5828; https://www.njoag.gov/.
For New York residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: The Capitol
Albany NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/.
For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699- 9001; 877-566-7226 or 919-716-6400; or www.ncdoj.gov.
For Ohio residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: 30 E. Broad St., 14th Floor,
Columbus, OH 43215; 800-282-0515; or www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
For Pennsylvania residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120; 717-787-3391; https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/.
For Tennessee residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: P.O. Box 20207,
Nashville, TN 37202; 615-741-3491; or https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral.html.
For Texas residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: PO Box 12548, Austin, TX 78711-2548; 512-463-2100 or 800-621-0508; or www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.
For Virginia residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at: 202 North Ninth Street,
Richmond, Virginia 23219; 804-786-2071 or 804-786-2042; or www.oag.state.va.us.
