Notice of Data Security Event
Esse Health takes the privacy and security of the information in our care seriously. We want to express our appreciation for your patience and understanding as we have worked diligently to restore our systems and investigate what happened. The purpose of this notice is to provide information to all potentially involved individuals about the incident.
What Happened
On April 21, 2025, suspicious activity was identified within the Esse Health network. We initiated an investigation with the assistance of external cybersecurity and forensic specialists. We took steps to secure our systems and notified law enforcement. Based on the investigation, a cybercriminal gained access to our network on April 21, 2025. While in our network, the cybercriminal was able to view and copy certain files. As part of our investigation, we conducted a time-intensive review of the files involved to determine the types of data present and to whom it related.
What Information Was Involved
The data involved varied by individual, but may have included information such as name, address, date of birth, health insurance information, medical record number, patient account number, and certain health information. The files also contained the Social Security numbers of a limited number of individuals. Esse Health’s electronic medical record system was not accessed or copied.
From our investigation, we have now identified certain individuals whose information may have been involved. Esse Health has started the process to send notification letters to those individuals whose information may have been involved and those individuals should receive a letter in the coming days.
What We Are Doing
As part of our ongoing commitment to the privacy and security of information in our care, we have implemented additional security enhancements to further strengthen our defenses. At this time there is no indication that any of the involved information has been misused. However, as an added precaution, we are offering identity protection services at no charge to individuals whose information may have been involved. Information on how to access those services will be included in the notification letters.
What You Can Do
As a precaution, it is always good practice to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under federal law, you also are entitled every 12 months to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies listed below, whether or not you suspect any authorized activity on your account. To obtain a free annual credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. Any suspicious activity related to one of your accounts should be reported promptly to the applicable institution.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please call the dedicated call center we set up to help answer questions regarding this incident at 1-855-202-3424. You may also write to us at inquiries@essehealth.com.
6-2-2025 Update
Esse Health has restored its phone systems and other primary patient-facing network systems. Patients can now contact us via all regular channels, including by calling or texting their doctor’s office or by sending messages via their patient portal.
Once again, we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we worked to resolve these issues. We will continue to provide relevant updates to this webpage as they become available.
Should you have any questions after reviewing this information, feel free to send them to inquiries@essehealth.com.
5-13-25 Update
We continue to work diligently to restore systems, and we are making good progress. We have now restored key information-sharing functions across our network, which will make it easier to fulfill new or previously scheduled appointments or procedures.
Additionally, due to certain systems coming back online, we can schedule appointments further out than before. With that said, if you need to reach us or need to schedule an appointment, the best way to contact us is still by:
- Sending a text message to the main phone number for your doctor’s office.
- Sending a message via our patient portal.
- Calling your doctor’s office directly.
Please note that our phones’ capabilities remain limited. We ask for extra patience if there are delays in calls connecting, though we hope to be able to share an update on our phone capabilities next week.
Again, we greatly appreciate your patience and support as we continue working to resolve this matter.
We remain committed to transparency through this process and will continue to share updates to this webpage as they are available.
Should you have any questions after reviewing this information, feel free to send them to inquiries@essehealth.com.
To Our Valued Patients:
We are writing today to advise you that some Esse Health network systems are currently offline due to a cybersecurity event. Our offices remain open and we continue to serve patients.
We are making progress in restoring systems, though it is possible that you may encounter some delays as we use back-up processes. For the time being, if you need to reach us or need to schedule an appointment, you can contact us by:
- Sending a text message to the main phone number for your doctor’s office. This is the most efficient and effective way to reach us.
- Sending a message via our patient portal.
- Calling your doctor’s office directly. Please note that our phones’ capabilities are currently limited, so we ask for extra patience if there are delays in calls connecting.
If you attempted to contact us in recent days but have yet to hear back, please contact us again using one of these methods.
We apologize for the inconvenience and concern created by this situation. We are working with third-party specialists to securely restore all systems and investigate this situation. Please know that the confidentiality, privacy and security of information in our care is of utmost importance. If our investigation determines that the confidentiality of data related to any individuals was compromised, we will notify them directly.
We greatly appreciate your patience and support as we work to resolve this matter. In the meantime, we are fully committed to continuing to provide you with the excellent care that you expect and deserve.
When there is new information to share, we will post updates to this web page. Should you have any questions after reviewing this information, feel free to send them to inquiries@essehealth.com.
