Henry County Health Department Data Breach (2016)

The Henry County Health Department delayed for two months its public acknowledgment that hundreds of patients’ medical records were exposed in a burglary because the department did not realize the scale of the theft, a department spokesman said Thursday. A nurse’s laptop and paperwork were stolen Oct. 22 when a burglar broke into her garage and stole her car, which contained the items. The department notified nine patients that day whose medical paperwork was stolen, said Joy Ermie, public information officer for the department. Medical information for many more clients was exposed, as the laptop had information on more than 560 additional patients, something the department did not know until information technology consultants completed an analysis, she said. That analysis was recently completed though she did not know the exact date of its completion.