Montclair Hospital No Longer Diverting Ambulances After Cyber Attack

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Two hospitals in North Jersey have stopped turning away ambulances after a cyber attack threw a monkey wrench into the Ardent Health Services computer system.

Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood were among the hospitals impacted by a ransomware attack that took place on Thanksgiving. The incident forced the hospitals to divert ambulances away to other nearby facilities. See Related: Montclair, Westwood Hospitals Divert Ambulances After Cyber Attack

On Monday, a spokesperson for Hackensack Meridian Health, which runs both hospitals, confirmed that Mountainside Medical Center and Pascack Valley Medical Center are no longer on divert status.

No additional updates were immediately available.

Ardent – the parent company of Hackensack Meridian Health – has set up a webpage with updates about the cyber attack, which can be seen here.

The latest update, issued on Nov. 30, reported that although the “vast majority” of its clinics have resumed operations, there are lingering effects from the incident that may be causing headaches for some patients.

There was no timeline for “full restoration,” Ardent reported.

According to the company:

“We continue to care for patients in our 30 hospitals, as well as in our emergency rooms and clinics. At this time, all of our 25 emergency rooms are accepting patients by ambulance. In some cases, we continue to ask local EMS services to transport patients in need of certain emergency care, such as stroke or trauma care, to other area ERs. All hospitals continue to provide a medical screening exam and stabilizing care to any patients arriving at our ERs.”

Ardent continued:

“The vast majority of our clinics have resumed operations at this time. Out of an abundance of caution, some non-emergent procedures have been temporarily paused while we work to bring systems back online. Our teams are working directly with any patient whose appointment or procedure will need to be rescheduled. We understand the frustration this has caused and sincerely regret any inconvenience to our patients.”

Patients who have questions about an upcoming appointment, test results, prescription or other clinical matters should contact their provider by phone directly. In some cases, patients may contact their pharmacy directly for prescription refills, Ardent stated.

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