Cybercrime does not dampen the strong future of our hospital

There are tough stories for a newspaper to write and then really difficult stories to write. Such was the case with the story of our local hospital getting hit by a cybercrime scam recently.

It’s not a pleasant story to tell when your hospital gets swindled to the tune of six figures, and it’s more than difficult for the hospital leadership, staff and board. After all, cybercrime warnings are everywhere. Log in to any bank website, and fraud warnings pop up saying that the said bank will never contact a customer by phone, email or text requesting sensitive information.

And yet it happened to North Big Horn Hospital on May 28, hundreds of thousands lost in an electronic bank transfer cybercrime.

Our newspaper staff heard about it and contacted CEO Eric Connell, and he stepped up. Though saddened and frustrated, Connell proved to be a standup guy. He didn’t hide the facts or evade questions. He took full responsibility and explained what happened and the steps being taken to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

He showed great character and surely has built trust among his staff and members of the community, who are the hospital’s customers.

Yes, the financial hit is significant, but far from debilitating. This hospital and hospital district is the pride of our community and have been judged to be among the best in the nation. The hospital and care center are well run, with a progressive plan for the future and a top-notch staff and impressive facilities, with the best yet to come.

The most recent hospital board meeting featured news of revenue exceeding the target by some $2 million, a strong, healthy and sustainable operating margin of 5.3 percent and much more: a five-star rating for the New Horizons Care Center from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, positive employee engagement results, bid openings for a new clinic remodel and bistro and to top it all off, preliminary master planning for a significant facility expansion that includes a much improved operating room and other improvements.

The positives happening with this hospital district far, far outweigh the shock of the cybercrime incident. No patient data or personal patient information was compromised in the incident, and hospital staff have already strengthened wire and ACH verification procedures and increased training. The incident will not affect medical services, slow the plans for the future or force the hospital to raise rates, such is the financial strength of the organization. 

Some money has been recovered, and efforts are being made to recover more. The FBI has been contacted, and an insurance claim has been filed.

If the outlook for the future of the North Big Horn Hospital District were to be put on a graph, it would show a strong, rising line, a slight zig downward a month ago and a zag rising strong again.

Yes, this cybercrime was shocking, but it should be a strong reminder to all of us – citizens and companies alike – to be cautious, wary and ever vigilant in our own financial dealings lest we, too, get hit by fraud and scams, as many have been hit long before the hospital.

Kudos to Eric Connell for stepping up with honesty in the wake of this incident. Our community should feel a strong level of trust in this hospital and its leadership team for a strong future.