WEST PALM BEACH — Florida Community Health Centers, Inc. (“FCHC”) recently experienced a data security incident that may have resulted in unauthorized access to patient health information.

 FCHC takes the security of the information within its control very seriously and has taken every measure to mitigate the incident and ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future.  

 What Happened? On June 13, 2023, FCHC was made aware that its computer network had been impacted by a ransomware incident, which may have resulted in the inadvertent exposure of health information of current and former FCHC patients. Upon discovery of the incident, FCHC engaged a specialized third-party vendor to secure its environment and conduct a forensic investigation to determine the root cause of the Incident, the extent of the unauthorized access, and determine whether patient information was potentially accessed without authorization.

On Oct. 19, 2023, the forensic investigation concluded there was evidence indicating that patient health information may have been accessed during the incident by an unauthorized user. Based on the results of the forensic investigation, FCHC conducted an internal review of its systems to determine what patient information may have been impacted as a result of the incident.

After completing its internal review, on Jan. 8, 2024, FCHC engaged a third-party data mining vendor to conduct a review of the impacted information in order to determine which patients’ information may have been impacted as a result of the incident.

The third-party review was completed on April 10, 2024. Based on the results of the data mining review, on July 1, 2024, FCHC notified the affected patients via postal mail with an offer for complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services as well as information on how individuals can further protect their information.

What information was involved? Based on the results of the forensic investigation and data mining review, patient information may have been impacted and potentially included: names, addresses, dates of birth, drivers’ licenses/state identification information, Social Security numbers, biometric information, health insurance information, and medical information.

Area residents are advised to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity. Additionally, security experts suggest that you contact your financial institution and all major credit bureaus to inform them of such a breach and then take whatever steps are recommended to protect your interests, including the possible placement of a fraud alert on your credit file.  

 If you have additional questions, please call 1-833-566-7730, Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, except holidays. FCHC sincerely regrets any inconvenience or concern that this matter may cause and remains dedicated to ensuring the privacy and security of all information in our control.

Additional  Resources to help protect your information

You may obtain a free copy of your credit report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com, calling toll-free at 1-877-322-8228, or by mailing a completed Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at www.annualcreditreport.com) to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281. You may also purchase a copy of your credit report for a fee by contacting one or more of the three national credit reporting agencies.

You have rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA governs the collection and use of information about you that is reported by consumer reporting agencies. You can obtain additional information about your rights under the FCRA by visiting https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-credit-reporting-act.

Credit Freeze You have the right to add, temporarily lift and remove a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on your credit report at no cost. A credit freeze prevents all third parties, such as credit lenders or other companies, whose use is not exempt under law, from accessing your credit file without your consent. If you have a freeze, you must remove or temporarily lift it to apply for credit. Spouses can request freezes for each other as long as they pass authentication. You can also request a freeze for someone if you have a valid Power of Attorney. If you are a parent/guardian/representative, you can request a freeze for a minor 15 and younger.  To add a security freeze on your credit report you must make a separate request to each of the three national consumer reporting agencies by phone, online, or by mail by following the instructions found at their websites (see “Contact Information” below). The following information must be included when requesting a security freeze: (i) full name, with middle initial and any suffixes; (ii) Social Security number; (iii) date of birth (month, day, and year); (iv) current address and any previous addresses for the past five (5) years; (v) proof of current address (such as a copy of a government-issued identification card, a recent utility or telephone bill, or bank or insurance statement); and (vi) other personal information as required by the applicable credit reporting agency.

Fraud Alert You have the right to add, extend, or remove a fraud alert on your credit file at no cost. A fraud alert is a statement that is added to your credit file that will notify potential credit grantors that you may be or have been a victim of identity theft. Before they extend credit, they should use reasonable procedures to verify your identity. Please note that, unlike a credit freeze, a fraud alert only notifies lenders to verify your identity before extending new credit, but it does not block access to your credit report. Fraud alerts are free to add and are valid for one year. Victims of identity theft can obtain an extended fraud alert for seven years. You can add a fraud alert by sending your request to any one of the three national reporting agencies by phone, online, or by mail by following the instructions found at their websites (see “Contact Information” below). The agency you contact will then contact the other credit agencies.

Contact Information Below is the contact information for the three national credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TranUnion) if you would like to add a fraud alert or credit freeze to your credit report.

Federal Trade Commission For more information about credit freezes and fraud alerts and other steps you can take to protect yourself against identity theft, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above.

You should also report instances of known or suspected identity theft to local law enforcement and the Attorney General’s office in your home state and you have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of your police report.