Northeast Professional Caregivers says the data breach may have exposed patient information

CANTON. The company, which provides self-care and home care services, says an unauthorized person may have accessed some of their patients’ personal data.

Northeast Professional Caregivers said the security breach could affect the health information of both potential and current patients.

Canton, which serves areas in Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties, released a statement Monday saying the data breach involved access to an employee’s email account that contained an email a letter with a marketing list of people seeking home health care services, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and the type of services sought.

“Importantly, no sensitive medical, financial or Social Security information was included in the disclosed information,” CEO Dale Wells said in a prepared statement. “At this time, there is no evidence that any information related to potential patients was accessed, misused or shared as a result of this incident. However, we are providing this notice to comply with federal regulations and out of an abundance of caution to keep you informed.”

What Northeast Professional Caregivers is doing about the data breach

After discovering the security incident, Wells said, the company took steps to further protect its systems. It launched an internal investigation with the help of cybersecurity experts.

“We have also notified the appropriate authorities, including the Department of Health and Human Services … in accordance with federal regulations,” Wells said. “In addition, we have implemented enhanced security measures such as two-factor authentication to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

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What you can do about a data breach

He advised potentially affected individuals to monitor their credit reports, consider freezing their credit and report any suspicious activity to the North East’s professional watchdogs. Concerns can be directed to the company at 330-966-2311.

“We regret any concern this incident may cause and want to reassure our community that protecting your personal information is a top priority at Northeast,” Wells said.

Contact Nancy at 330-580-8382 or [email protected]. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Northeast Professional Caregivers in Canton reports a data breach