Palo Verde Hospital Data Breach Exposes Patients' Medical Info & SSNs

On March 6, 2025, Palo Verde Hospital discovered a significant data breach that disrupted some of its IT systems and compromised sensitive patient information. According to the hospital, an unauthorized party gained access to certain systems between March 3 and March 6, 2025.

During this period, files containing both personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) were accessed or removed. The breach was reported to law enforcement and third-party forensic experts were engaged to investigate the incident.

The exposed information includes names, contact information, demographic details, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, medical record numbers, patient account numbers, diagnosis and treatment information, prescription details, provider names, dates of service, and health insurance information. For some patients, financial account and routing numbers were also involved.

This combination of PII and PHI significantly increases the risk of identity theft and medical fraud for affected individuals.

The breach was officially disclosed to the California Attorney General’s office on April 25, 2025. For further details, you can review the California Attorney General’s breach report and the official notice posted by Palo Verde Hospital.

Palo Verde Hospital's response

For those affected, Palo Verde Hospital is offering one year of complimentary identity monitoring services through Experian IdentityWorks. This service includes credit monitoring, identity restoration support, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. Affected individuals are strongly encouraged to enroll in these services and to remain vigilant by monitoring their financial and health records for any signs of suspicious activity.

If you believe you are affected, consider taking the following steps:

• Enroll in the complimentary identity monitoring service provided by Experian.
• Review your statements from healthcare providers and insurers for any unauthorized services.
• Regularly check your financial account statements for unusual activity.
• Obtain your free annual credit reports from the major credit bureaus.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit files.