DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Edgewater Hospital’s Medical Records Found at Abandoned Premises

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Dissent

Nancy Loo reports that more than a decade after its closing, medical records have been found at the abandoned Edgewater Hospital on Chicago’s North side.

A joint WGN – Chicago Tribune investigation has confirmed an extraordinary situation involving medical records at the old hospital.  And as Nancy Loo reports, not only were medical files left behind inside Edgewater after it closed; they’re still there.

[…]

WGN and the Chicago Tribune obtained these photos from a 2009 visit by the State Health Department, a site visit Joe Drantz says was prompted by formal neighborhood complaints. “There’s important information about the records that’s contained in there. Even if it’s not medical.  Social security numbers, credit card numbers, pathology tests.”

[…]

A local adventure seeker, who asked us to disguise her face, describes what she saw just over a year ago.  ”There was a whole room just filled with thousands of patient records.  And when you opened up a file, it said the patient’s name, their date of birth, address, social security number. So, everything you’d need to steal their identity.”  So far, there are no known cases of identity theft linked to the Edgewater files, some of which we spotted just recently from the public sidewalk through a street level window.  Drantz points out where most of the files are located. “The files are in the professional building.”

Read more on WGN.

So the state knew about the problem, but did nothing more after getting a voluntary agreement to remedy the problem in 2009. They never went back because they reportedly got no more complaints from the public.

Is that a satisfactory explanation? There are many situations in which entities fold or die and states become aware of abandoned medical records that could be stolen by anyone. Shouldn’t states have some ultimate responsibility in such cases to protect the public by taking action?

No related posts.

Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← NHC Oak Ridge discloses breach involving unencrypted backup tape
Belfast civil servant offered to sell secret database info to newspaper →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Fact-Checking Claims By Cybernews: The 16 Billion Record Data Breach That Wasn’t
  • Horizon Healthcare RCM discloses ransomware attack in December
  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.