On May 2, 2023, Northwest Health-La Porte (formerly known as La Porte Hospital) filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after learning that patient records had been illegally removed from shredding bins at an old facility. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ first and last names, demographic information, medical record numbers, hospital account numbers, clinical information, Social Security numbers, prescription information, insurance information and billing information. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, Northwest Health-La Porte began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Northwest Health-La Porte, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. Data breaches such as this one significantly increase your risk of experiencing identity theft or other frauds. However, there are steps you can take to reduce these risks. To learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft and what your legal options are in the wake of the Northwest Health-La Porte data breach, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What We Know So Far About the Northwest Health-La Porte Breach

News of the Northwest Health-La Porte data breach is still fresh; however, what we know at this point comes from the company’s filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. According to this source, on March 3, 2023, Northwest Health-La Porte learned that an unauthorized party was able to access confidential patient information after removing certain records from shredding bins at a facility that is no longer being used by the company. While the property had been scheduled for demolition, Northwest Health-La Porte still had some property on-site, including the shred bins full of patient records.

Northwest Health-La Porte was notified of the breach when YouTube videos of the patient records were posted online.

Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Northwest Health-La Porte began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your first and last name, demographic information, medical record number, hospital account number, clinical information, Social Security number, prescription information, insurance information and billing information.

On May 2, 2023, Northwest Health-La Porte sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

More Information About Northwest Health-La Porte

Northwest Health-La Porte is a healthcare facility located in La Porte, Indiana. The healthcare system focuses on providing services such as cardiology, orthopedics, surgical services, emergency care, oncology and maternal health. Northwest Health-La Porte also operates Northwest Medical Center, several outpatient rehabilitation facilities, and urgent care facilities. Northwest Health-La Porte employs more than 1,332 people and generates approximately $242 million in annual revenue.