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Ransomware groups have consistently tried to break into hospitals’ networks, and they aren’t just eyeing big health systems.

Increasingly, cyberattackers are going after smaller hospitals, industry leaders say. Ransomware groups are going after rural hospitals, federally qualified health centers, clinics, and other facilities with modest resources. The Health Sector Coordinating Council’s Cybersecurity Working Group outlined some of those threats in 

 sent to the White House and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Jennifer Stoll, the chief external affairs officer of OCHIN, a collaborative of hundreds of safety net organizations, said more rural hospitals and federally qualified health centers are suffering breaches.

“We're the least funded section of the delivery system, and we are the most vulnerable when it comes to cybersecurity,” Stoll tells Chief Healthcare Executive®.

“Everybody needs a lot of money to be able to support the cybersecurity infrastructure, because we are really facing a national crisis, which is a war against our healthcare providers every day, with bad actors domestically, but mostly abroad. And we just don't have the resources,” she says.

What it’s like to negotiate with ransomware gangs

Hundreds of healthcare organizations have suffered breaches in recent years. 

In 2024, there were 592 breaches of health data

, and 259 million Americans were affected, according to John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk with the American Hospital Association. Three out of four Americans were impacted by a breach of private health information last year.

Rural hospitals recognize that they are vulnerable to cyberattacks, but most don’t have the money or manpower to invest in strong defenses, says Jim Roeder, the vice president of information technology of Lakewood Health System, which operates a critical access hospital and several primary care clinics in Minnesota. He served as co-leader of the task force that produced the report on cyberattacks and smaller systems.

For smaller providers, Roeder says, “We could have a couple million dollars for cybersecurity, or we can get that CT machine that we need to bring in more revenue and keep the doors open. And so that's the constant battle that we face from our budget, when we have to go to the board.”

Cybersecurity panel: How hospitals can protect their patients and their systems

At first blush, a small, 25-bed hospital in a rural community wouldn’t seem like it would be worth the time for a cyberattacker. But analysts say there are reasons why ransomware gangs would go after a rural hospital or a federally qualified health center.

First, even a small organization still has a great deal of private health information, which is very valuable to bad actors. And that’s also true of clinics and health centers serving neighborhoods where many have low incomes.

“Just because they're low resource communities doesn't mean that it's not great data to be able to hijack or steal,” Ochin says.

“Even if you're dealing with low income and underserved or rural communities, you know, it still creates havoc, and it still allows them to have a very powerful weapon, with lots of things that they can do for nefarious purposes,” she adds.

Federally qualified health centers aren’t being spared, she says.

“They have just as many breaches. They really do,” Ochin says.

Retired Army General Paul Nakasone, the former leader of the U.S. Cyber Command, warned of 

the growing risk of cyberattacks aimed at rural providers

 at the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition in March.

“These rural hospitals have limited funds, have limited capabilities, and they are often the target of ransomware actors,” Nakasone said.

Plus, ransomware groups know smaller hospitals are more likely to have less imposing defenses, so they reason they could get a payday with relatively low effort, experts say.

are exposed to breaches involving many of the vendors they utilize

 for all sorts of business functions. Leaders of smaller hospitals are increasingly frustrated by the risks of attacks tied to vendors, and they are left wondering whether those vendors are staying up to date with software patches to address vulnerabilities. And smaller systems don’t have the staff to do some of the leg work to be sure vendors are doing what they should be doing.

In the cybersecurity report, Roeder says some hospital leaders expressed frustration that they have to take on all the risk involving vendors properly updating their systems. They want vendors to take more responsibility.

“If they want these devices to be put into healthcare systems, they have to be willing to patch them, support them, make sure they stay secure,” Roeder says.

Rural hospitals and health centers typically may have one person focused on cybersecurity, and sometimes even that individual is juggling other responsibilities.

many hospitals struggle to find talented cybersecurity pros

, it’s especially difficult for rural hospitals.

Roeder says it’s difficult to “find people that have the knowledge that want to work in healthcare in a rural area.”

Some hospitals and health systems have allowed cybersecurity staff to work remotely, which helps to a degree, he says. But that’s a bit of a double-edged sword, because cybersecurity pros living in rural areas don’t necessarily have to work at the local hospital.

“It kind of hurt us, because these people with that knowledge all of a sudden can work for bigger companies elsewhere, too,” he says.

Hospital cybersecurity leaders have stressed that breaches have costs beyond the bottom line and even reputational damage. 

Cyberattacks threaten the safety of patients

, particularly when attacks succeed in knocking electronic health records offline and disrupting vital systems.

“Cybersecurity for one is cyber security for all, and it's also patient safety,” Stoll says.

Cybersecurity leaders are also talking more about 

, because an attack at one hospital can force patients to be transferred to other facilities.

But the risks to patient safety may be magnified at smaller hospitals, particularly those in rural areas. In plenty of rural areas across the country, a small, community access hospital may be the only hospital within an hour or more.

If an attack happened at Lakewood Health in Minnesota, Roeder says patients may have to go to another facility that may be an hour or two away.

“We got to try and hope they have room for these patients,” Roeder says. “And you know, we have two ambulances. How do you get them there? How do you transport them there in a timely manner?”

That vulnerability for rural providers makes them a target. As Stoll notes, some rural communities may not have another hospital within 150 miles. And that puts rural hospitals in a terrible position when an attacker gets into their system in hopes of a payday.

“If you have a gun to your head, because they've got all your data and they've frozen your system, you're down,” Stoll says. “And you are creating a real vulnerability in terms of patient care.”

Stoll, Roeder and other advocates for federally qualified health centers and rural hospitals stress that those facilities are going to need more federal funding to defend against cyberattacks.

The federal government is looking to impose tougher requirements on hospitals

 to maintain certain cybersecurity standards, and healthcare leaders say smaller facilities are going to need more help.

“It's really different, and we have to think differently about the needs of those that have the least amount of resources,” Stoll says.

Providers with modest resources are being attacked. Healthcare leaders say breaches at smaller hospitals and clinics can have a serious impact.

Topic

Small hospitals and clinics emerge as big targets for cyberattacks

The Changing Landscape of ASC's

The smallest patients at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla now have a big new building.

The Scripps Health hospital in San Diego has opened its new North Tower, a $664 million building that has been in the planning stages for years. The eight-story building offers 188 new inpatient rooms, including 82 offering service for mothers and babies. All of the inpatient rooms are private.

Scripps Health officials say the new building offers expanded services for babies and expecting mothers, including 18 private labor and delivery rooms, 24 beds for neonatal intensive care, and 38 post-partum beds.

 for specialized services for the NICU unit, a partnership that has been in place for more than three decades.

Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health, says the new building represents “innovative collaboration among our exceptional physicians, nurses and hospital employees.”

“The North Tower is a cutting-edge medical resource, and it will be a place of healing for generations to come,” he said in a statement.

The first patients were moved into the North Tower from the campus’ Browning Building earlier this month. The tower also offers inpatient services for cancer, stroke, spinal injuries and trauma.

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla unveils new, eight-story tower for moms and babies

Scripps Health hospital in San Diego opens new $664M tower

The new building offers more capacity for Scripps La Jolla, boosting its total bed count by more than 100 beds. The hospital now offers a total of 495 beds licensed to Scripps, and another 36 NICU beds licensed to Rady Children’s.

The hospital typically delivers about 3,200 babies annually.

Architecture firm HGA designed the 420,000-square-foot tower, which was meant to incorporate more collaborative spaces and allow staff to work more efficiently. Hospital officials said the building was designed to incorporate natural light and enable families to be as comfortable as possible. Patient rooms offer views of the mountains nearby and windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

Scott Laoboonmi, principal and senior project manager for HGA’s Healthcare Practice Group, said in a statement that the tower is among the firm’s largest healthcare projects in California.

“It was crucial that this tower was designed to be both efficient and consistent with Scripps’ campus-wide standards for care and comfort,” Laoboonmi said in a statement.

The planning and construction of the new tower took eight years.

Jane O’Donnell, MD, medical director of the Rady Children’s at Scripps La Jolla NICU, said more than 500 babes are admitted to the NICU each year.

“We’re so thankful for this beautiful new space to provide advanced, compassionate care for the smallest and most fragile babies that deliver at Scripps,” O’Donnell said in a statement.

Hospital officials also tout the building’s decentralized nursing stations, that allow nurses to be more accessible to patients and families. Each floor also offers lobby space for families to relax, while still being close to loved ones in their rooms.

The new tower marks another step in a 25-year plan to transform the La Jolla campus. Scripps Health is undertaking other ambitious plans. 

The hospital is planning to build a new, $1.2 billion medical complex

, featuring a hospital and an ambulatory facility on a 13-acre site in San Marcos, about 35 miles from San Diego.

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla’s new, 8-floor building is designed to provide better care for moms and babies. The building also expands the hospital’s bed count.


Scripps Health hospital’s new $664M tower is now open 

The audience of Chief Healthcare Executive® has grown substantially over the past few years, and we’re receiving more requests for contributed pieces.

That’s fantastic. We want to provide more perspectives and ideas on the pressing issues in health care. Ideally, we hope to share some solutions to big problems.

We’ve published a host of opinion pieces from healthcare leaders over the last couple of years. These features, which are labeled as “Viewpoint”, have generated strong readership. And we relish the chance to bring different ideas and strategies to Chief Healthcare Executive®, as we strive to be an indispensable resource for leaders in the industry.

Here’s a guide to submitting contributed pieces.

This is the most important rule, and it’s non-negotiable. Contributed features must be non-promotional and vendor-neutral, avoiding any overt or subtle promotion of specific companies or products.

For example, we would welcome a contributing feature on a topic such as digital health and expanding more access to patients. But we won’t accept a feature that touts one company above others. That would be a promotional piece.

An important note: Chief Healthcare Executive offers sponsored content opportunities for promotional material. Our sales team would be happy to talk to you about sponsored content opportunities.

Our “Viewpoint” features should be written in a clear, conversational style. It’s always a good idea to write in the way people talk.

Avoid using jargon that may be common in one area of the healthcare ecosystem, but may not always be understood by a wider audience. Go easy on the acronyms.

Chief Healthcare Executive enjoys a broad audience, which goes beyond clinicians. If you’re a doctor or nurse, remember that many readers aren’t caregivers. If you’re a healthcare technology leader, don’t assume everyone knows about every type of software.

Chief Healthcare Executive follows Associated Press style. We don’t use footnotes, but it’s a good idea to link to studies or news stories that are relevant.

Viewpoint pieces should be around 600-700 words. That’s not a hard limit. If a story reads well and is relevant, it can be a bit longer.

However, if a submitted piece is more than 1,000 words, there’s a good chance it will be sent back with a request to cut it down.

Healthcare leaders are busy. So it’s better to be concise.

The most successful “Viewpoint” pieces focus on specific problems or challenges in the industry, and offer suggestions or strategies in dealing with those issues.

It’s also good to think about solutions that can be applied to organizations of all sizes. Some smaller hospitals won’t have millions of dollars to address a need.

Chief Healthcare Executive primarily serves the leaders of hospitals and health systems. Obviously, health systems include physician practices, primary care, outpatient facilities, and insurance plans.

But we are focused on the hospital industry. Think of reaching that audience.

We don’t want pieces created by AI. We expect contributed features to be written by human authors.

We understand if contributors are using AI tools to assist in research or spur ideas. But we’re only taking articles from real people.

If a contributed piece questions conventional wisdom or criticizes legislation or health policy, that’s fine. However, we’ll reject pieces if they include character assassination or rude language. Be civil, not snarky.

We typically include a photo of our contributing authors, and a very short description of the author at the end (Example: Jane Doe is CEO of Metropolis Health).

Now that we’ve reviewed the guidelines, let’s make it clear that we want more contributed pieces.

If you’ve found success in tackling a problem, or want to weigh in on legislation, regulation, or any issue you think is important, write to us.

We love hearing from hospital executives, but we want to hear from doctors, nurses, financial officers, technology leaders, and anyone from the healthcare ecosystem.

And we also hope to have a diverse mix of ideas, opinions and voices. If you’re representing a group or community that may be underserved or struggles to be heard, please reach out to us so we can amplify those voices.

And while I love the image of the vintage typewriter accompanying this guide, you should send your contributed pieces via email.

Send them to me: rsouthwick@mjhlifesciences.com.

We welcome opinion pieces on important issues affecting hospitals, clinicians, and patients, but there are some guidelines. Here’s what you need to know.

Want to submit a contributed article to Chief Healthcare Executive? Here’s how. 

Health systems increasingly turn to centralized fulfillment to meet rising demand, reduce costs, and free up pharmacists for patient care. This whitepaper outlines 10 critical RFP questions to help pharmacy and operational leaders evaluate vendor fit. Topics include fulfillment model selection, scalability, pharmacist verification models, software integration, implementation support, and long-term compliance. It’s a must-read for any health system preparing to modernize its pharmacy infrastructure.

Vanessa Geneva Ahern

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