Mile Bluff Medical Center in Mauston, Wisconsin, said Tuesday that a security event involving data encryption disrupted some phone and computer functions, prompting clinical teams to shift to downtime procedures while patient care continued.
The hospital said it activated security protocols immediately after detecting the issue and began an investigation with internal experts and third-party partners.
In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Dara Bartels said some services experienced limited and temporary interruptions and described the impact as narrow in scope. She said clinical teams switched to downtime procedures to maintain continuity of care and that patient safety was ensured.
The hospital had not publicly said whether electronic health records, billing, patient portal access, ambulance traffic or data theft were involved. As of Tuesday, officials said they were still assessing the situation and working to restore systems. Mile Bluff did not respond to a request for comment from DysruptionHub, and no public claim of responsibility was identified. The hospital did not characterize the attack beyond saying the incident involved data encryption.
A pharmacy-related update posted through Mile Bluff’s Facebook presence said clinic prescription dispensing sites would remain closed on April 22, while the Mauston location would remain available to assist patients, indicating at least some downstream disruption beyond core hospital operations.
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Mile Bluff is a Mauston-based healthcare provider serving Juneau County and surrounding parts of central Wisconsin, operating a 40-bed acute care hospital along with senior living, pharmacy and outreach clinic services.
Mile Bluff’s disruption follows several hospital cyber incidents this month, including at Signature Healthcare in Massachusetts, which diverted ambulances and shifted to paper records; Minidoka Memorial Hospital in Idaho, which transferred some emergency patients and reported imaging limits; and Gritman in Idaho, where outpatient services were disrupted while the hospital and emergency department remained open.
Officials said they are working to restore affected systems while the investigation continues. The hospital has not publicly detailed which systems were affected beyond some phone and computer functions.
