Three hundred workers at the University of Vermont Medical Center can’t do their normal job duties due to the cyberattack.
Hospital officials said Friday that 129 of the affected staff members had accepted other job assignments. The remainder can use vacation time or take unpaid time off, according to spokesperson Neal Goswami.
Furloughed workers weren’t given a clear timeframe for when they could be back on the job though they’ll gradually return to their positions as online systems are back up and running, he said.
It has been 12 days since the UVM Medical Center system was breached by hackers, shutting down the electronic medical records system, and databases with patient information. On Monday, the hospital got access to appointment schedules through Nov. 15 and clinical plans for chemotherapy patients. IT staff also rebooted the phone system.
“It’s been a difficult and frustrating thing” for patients who have not been able to reach their doctors, Goswami said. In spite of canceled appointments and ongoing delays, the phone system “should improve the patient experience.”
Goswami couldn’t say which departments or positions had been affected by the furloughs or how long the workers would be sidelined. Those who were reassigned have been working to speed up the pen-and-paper system, filing records, documenting medications, and faxing lab results, Goswami said.
UVM Medical Center officials have kept mum on who perpetrated the attack, or its long-term impact on the hospital.
They have declined to answer questions on the source of the attack, and have refused to say whether they have found ransomware, or whether a foreign group appears to be responsible. A Russian group has been connected to similar attacks on hospitals around the country.
The FBI launched an investigation into the cyberattack, but spokesperson Sarah Ruane has yet to provide any information on the bureau’s findings. UVM Medical Center President Steve Leffler has said he is unaware of any requests for ransom.
Last week, Gov. Phil Scott called on a cybersecurity unit of the National Guard to active duty to help clean laptops and medical devices and restore the downed systems. They started work last Wednesday and worked through the weekend, Goswami said.
One furloughed worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she decided not to take reassignment, and to leave the limited number of jobs to people who needed the work more than she did.
The waiting game, and uncertainty, was frustrating, she said. Frontline workers were hit the hardest, she said, adding that doctors and administrators weren’t forced to take time off. “Just like before, this fell on the backs of the people who do the actual work,” she said.
“I am also very concerned for the patients who aren’t receiving the care they need,” the employee wrote in an email to VtDigger. There was already a backlog of patients due the Covid shutdown, she said. “When systems are up and running and then who knows what will happen with the predicted second wave of Covid.”
Goswami said some workers may come back as early as the end of this week. For some it will take longer. “We don’t know when that will happen or in what order at this point,” he said.