Baxter Regional Home Health Facility (Baxter Home Health) recently became
aware of a security incident possibly affecting the personal information
of some individuals who received medical services from or who worked at
our facility in Cotter, Arkansas. As a precaution, we are providing
this notice
to make potentially affected patients and employees aware of the incident
and call their attention to steps they can take to help protect themselves.
We take the security of personal information very seriously, and sincerely
apologize for any concern this incident may cause.
What Happened
On the morning of August 5, 2016, Baxter Home Health discovered that our
facility in Cotter, Arkansas, had been broken into overnight. At the time
of the break-in, certain hard-copy files were located within the facility
and could potentially have been accessed by the individuals who broke
in. We have no information to suggest that any records were viewed or
removed from the facility, and none of our electronic records or computer
systems were impacted. We are nonetheless providing notice to potentially-affected
patients and employees out of an abundance of caution.
What Information Was Involved
The patient files stored at this facility may have included information
such as names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security
numbers, government identification numbers, insurance identifiers and
diagnostic information. The employee records may have included names,
addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, licensure information, and information
about previous employers.
What We Are Doing
The facility takes our responsibility to safeguard all protected health
information seriously. We immediately contacted law enforcement after
discovering the incident and are continuing to assist with their investigation
in an attempt to identify those responsible for the break-in. We also
completed an internal investigation into the incident and an assessment
of our security practices. We are currently working to increase security
measures at the facility, and to that end, have changed locks and will
be installing cameras and alarm systems to better secure this facility.
In addition, to help protect the identities of our patients and employees,
we are offering twelve months of complimentary identity protection services
from an identity monitoring services company. These services help detect
possible misuse of personal information and provide identity protection
support focused on immediate identification and resolution of identity
theft. For additional information about these services, including enrollment
instructions, please call 1-844-453-5060.
What You Can Do
We want to make potentially affected individuals aware of steps they can
take to guard against fraud or identify theft. We recommend that individuals
carefully check their credit reports for accounts they did not open or
for inquiries from creditors they did not initiate, and to call the credit
agency immediately if they see something they do not understand. Any suspicious
activity on a credit report should be reported to the local police or
sheriffand#39;s office. Individuals should file a police report for identity
theft and get a copy of it, since it may be necessary to give copies of
the police report to creditors to clear up fraudulent records.
We also recommend that our patients regularly review the explanation of
benefits (EOB) statements that they receive from their health insurers
or health plans. If they identify services listed on the EOB that were
not received, they should immediately contact the insurer or health plan.
As an additional precaution, we are providing information and resources
to help our patients and employees protect their identities. This includes an
Information About Identity Theft reference guide,
available here, which describes additional steps individuals may take to help protect
themselves, including recommendations from the Federal Trade Commission
regarding identity theft protection.
Again, Baxter Regional Home Health Facility recognizes the importance of
protecting personal information. We deeply regret any concern this incident
may present to our patients or employees.
For More Information
For more information about this incident and ways our patients or employees
can protect themselves, contact us toll-free at 1-844-453-5060 between
8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Again, we regret any
concern this incident may cause.
Baxter Regional Home Health Facility Notifies Patients of Potential Security Incident
Information about Identity Theft Protection