WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Limited details about last week's cyberattack at two West Palm Beach hospitals are adding to the growing concern from patients and their families.
More families and hospital employees are calling WPTV to voice their concerns about how the computer system failure at St. Mary's Medical Center and Good Samaritan Medical Center are delaying their access to essential medical records and test results.
One grandmother, who did not want to be identified, said she's been left in the dark about the situation, causing despair.
"They're all backed up because of all the problems that they've been having," the grandmother said.
She said her two-and-a-half-year-old grandson has been in and out of the hospital over the last week with intestinal problems.
The child's condition was so severe that they took him to the St. Mary's emergency room. That's when the family noticed something wasn't right at the hospital.
"Something was going on," the grandmother said. "The cyberattack … they were going nuts."
She learned the phone lines and computer systems were down. It's been like that since last Wednesday.
Tenet Health announced Tuesday that they were impacted by a "cybersecurity incident."
The grandmother said the cyberattack is the reason why she can't get her grandson's lab results.
The family ended up going to West Boca Medical Center for care, but their grandson's lab test was sent to St. Mary's, causing them to deal with computer complications once again.
She said her grandson has since been discharged from the hospital. However, their anxiety is growing deeper. Without those lab results, his diagnosis is unknown.
"He has a genetic condition. I mean, I'm terrified. He only has one kidney," the grandmother said. "I don't know what is taking so long with all this."
Malpractice attorney Craig Goldenfarb said a potential backlog in the medical records department is one of many issues these two hospitals will face.
"Many practitioners outside of a hospital setting depend on hospital records to make some health care decisions," Goldenfarb said. "So if those practitioners don't have access to the hospital records, it could create an unnecessary — and maybe even dangerous — delay."
An employee at St. Mary's Medical Center said that some of the computers are back online, but many applications are still down.
WPTV reached out to Tenet Health for an update Thursday and is still waiting for a response.
