NOTICE OF DATA PRIVACY INCIDENT
Notice of Data Privacy Incident
Date: October 15, 2025
Watsonville Community Hospital (“WCH”) is providing notice of a recent dat security event, which is still under investigation. As we continue to investigate and work toward notifying impacted individuals directly we are providing information about the event, our response, and steps potentially impacted individuals can take to protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened? We became aware of suspicious activity related to certain systems within our computer network. In response, we promptly took portions of our network offline, isolated the affected systems, and began an investigation into the activity with the assistance of third-party specialists. The investigation determined there was unauthorized access to a limited subset of our network between November 25, 2024 and November 30, 2024, and that certain files within the network were accessed or downloaded without authorization during that time.
While our investigation was ongoing, we began notifying potentially affected individuals via our website and media notice. As part of our response efforts, we performed a comprehensive and time-intensive third-party review of the impacted files to determine what information was contained within the files and to whom the information relates. This review was completed on or about September 22, 2025. Following the third-party review, we undertook a detailed internal review of our records to identify contact information for affected individuals to provide this notification. We recently concluded this review and are continuing notice to identified individuals.
What Information Was Involved? Based on our investigation to date, we determined that the impacted information varies by individual but may include name, address, medical record number, full or partial Social Security number, date of birth, tax ID number, driver’s license/government ID number, passport number, financial account information, payment card information, access credentials, birth certification, clinical or treatment information, medical procedure information, medical provider name, prescription information, or health insurance information.
What WCH is Doing. Information privacy and security are among our highest priorities. Upon learning of this event, we moved quickly to investigate and respond to the incident, assess the security of our systems, restore functionality to our IT Network, and notify potentially affected individuals. As part of our ongoing commitment to information privacy and security, we reviewed and enhanced our technical, administrative, and physical safeguards, policies, and procedures to further secure the information on our systems. We also reported this incident to the federal bureau of investigation who is responsible for investigating these cyber events, and appropriate state and federal data privacy regulators. We remain committed to complying with all state and federal requirements and maintaining timely and transparent communication with our community.
What You Can Do. We encourage individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Suspicious activity should be promptly reported to relevant parties including an insurance company, healthcare provider, and/or financial institution. Additional information and resources may be found below in the Steps Individuals Can Take to Protect Personal Information section of this notice.
For More Information. Individuals seeking additional information may contact our dedicated assistance line at 1-833-661-1932 (toll-free), which is available Monday through Friday, from 6:00 am – 6:00 pm, excluding major U.S. holidays. Individuals may also write to Watsonville Community Hospital, Attn: Executive Administration 75 Nielson St., Watsonville, CA 95076.