Here’s what is causing network outage at health care giant with locations in Puget Sound

A new statement from a local health system’s parent company offered fresh details on the cyberattack that has kept its online systems down for more than a week.

Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, of which Virginia Mason Franciscan Health properties in Pierce, King and Kitsap counties are a part, said in a statement posted Oct. 12 that a ransomware attack was to blame for a online network outage.

It said that “upon discovering the ransomware attack, we took immediate steps to protect our systems, contain the incident, begin an investigation, and ensure continuity of care. Our facilities are following existing protocols for system outages, which includes taking certain systems offline, such as electronic health records.”

It added that it had “engaged leading cybersecurity specialists and notified law enforcement.”

The incident involving the Puget Sound-area medical sites and affiliated CommonSpirit Health sites nationwide was first reported publicly Oct. 3. Since that time, medical staff at most of the VMFH sites in the area have lacked access to online medical records, scheduling and more.

Patients also have not been able to access their MyChart accounts.

Few details were released in the days following the first announcement. NBC News first reported on Oct. 7 that the issues stemmed from a ransomware attack, citing an unnamed source.

The health care giant admitted Wednesday that some operations were harder hit than others, and the investigation was continuing “to determine if there are any data impacts as part of that process.”

CommonSpirit Health noted, “Systems serving Dignity Health and Virginia Mason Medical Center have had minimal impacts on operations by this incident. For the other parts of our health system that have seen impacts on operations, we are working diligently every day to bring systems online and restore full functionality as quickly and safely as possible.”

In an emailed update sent by a media representative Thursday afternoon to The News Tribune, the health system said that “We are conducting a thorough forensics investigation as we restore full functionality and reconnect our systems.”

Virginia Mason Medical Center has stated its operations were continuing to run as usual.

Legacy CHI Franciscan sites in the Puget Sound area, including in and around Tacoma,have been particularly hard hit, with one physician describing it essentially as “flying blind,” for all of last week.

Operations at a VMFH hospital in Kitsap County have become especially difficult, with staff citing the ongoing IT issue, high patient demand and not enough staff. The Kitsap Sun reported that Saturday night the charge nurse in the emergency room at St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale resorted to calling 911 for help in handling its backup of patients.

Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue sent a crew to the hospital to assist, according to the report.