Brockton Hospital pulled key computer systems offline Monday after what officials are calling a cybersecurity incident, a move that triggered ambulance diversions and pushed staff back to old-school paper charts. Inpatient care and the walk-in emergency department stayed open, but the outage disrupted some outpatient visits and pharmacy services.
In a statement to Boston 25 News, Signature Healthcare said that "upon identifying suspicious activity within a portion of our network, we immediately activated our incident response protocols." Hospital leaders said downtime procedures kicked in so clinicians could keep documenting care on paper while IT crews work to contain the problem.
Why ambulances may be rerouted
When a hospital spots signs of a network intrusion, tech teams often shut systems down to stop any malware from spreading. That safety step can temporarily limit what the emergency department can handle, which means ambulances are sometimes told to head elsewhere until the network is checked out and stabilized. The Associated Press has reported that similar cyber incidents at other health systems have led to ambulance diversions and a return to manual recordkeeping while outside cybersecurity specialists and investigators work to restore full service.
What patients should know
Signature Healthcare told Boston 25 News that surgeries and procedures were still moving ahead as planned and that inpatient care and walk-in emergency services remained open. Chemotherapy infusion visits scheduled for Tuesday were canceled, and patients were urged to call the Greene Cancer Center to reschedule. The system also said its retail pharmacies at 110 Liberty Street in Brockton and 1 Donalds Way in East Bridgewater would be closed Tuesday.
The cyber trouble hits as Brockton Hospital is still rebuilding momentum after a February 2023 electrical fire. The facility reopened in August 2024 following months of repairs and upgrades, a stretch that local coverage has chronicled as Signature Healthcare worked through construction and staffing challenges.
Patients looking for the latest updates are advised to call the Greene Cancer Center or the hospital’s main line. Contact numbers and location information are listed on Signature Healthcare’s Brockton page. This story will be updated if Signature Healthcare or local officials release more details on the scope of the outage.
How these incidents can unfold
Similar cyber events at other health systems have sometimes required lengthy forensic reviews and help from federal authorities, all while hospitals scramble to bring electronic records back online and check whether any data was exposed. Officials have not provided a timeline for restoring all affected systems in Brockton, and investigators typically work alongside outside experts to determine the full scope and impact before declaring the all clear.
