WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Ascension Via Christi hospitals are now able to resume elective surgeries after a cyber attack disrupted operations on Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed to KAKE on Friday afternoon.

The spokesperson says along with the resuming of elective surgeries, the organization says some of the primary systems related to patient care are still getting back online. 

In addition, Via Christi said Thursday that the hospitals lifted all diversions for trauma cases for stroke, heart attack and burn patients being brought in by EMS. 

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A spokesperson from Ascension Via Christi confirmed to KAKE News Thursday that the hospital has lifted diversions for all trauma cases for stroke, burn and heart attack patients being brought in by EMS.

In a statement, Ascension Via Christi said:

"On May 8, Ascension detected unusual activity in our network systems. We have determined this is a cybersecurity incident. We are working around the clock with internal and external advisors to investigate, contain, and restore our systems following a thorough validation and screening process. Our investigation and restoration work will take time to complete, and we do not have a timeline for completion.

Safely caring for patients remains our highest priority as we navigate this cybersecurity incident. We are actively supporting our ministries as they continue to provide safe, patient care with established downtime protocols and procedures, in which our workforce is well trained. It is expected that we will be utilizing downtime procedures for some time. Patients should bring to their appointment notes on their symptoms and a list of current medications and prescription numbers or the prescription bottles so their care team can call in medication needs to pharmacies.

Systems that are currently unavailable include our electronic health records system, MyChart (which enables patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), some phone systems, and various systems utilized to order certain tests, procedures and medications. We have implemented established protocols and procedures to address these particular system disruptions in order to continue to provide safe care to patients. Out of an abundance of caution, however, some non-emergent elective procedures, tests and appointments have been temporarily paused while we work to bring systems back online. Our teams are working directly with any patient whose appointment or procedure will need to be rescheduled. We understand the frustration this may cause and sincerely regret any inconvenience to our patients.

Due to downtime procedures, several hospitals are currently on diversion for emergency medical services in order to ensure emergency cases are triaged immediately. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please contact 911 and your local emergency services will bring you to the nearest hospital emergency room.

We are beyond grateful for the hard work and dedication of our care teams across the system, and their continued commitment to our patients. We also thank our patients and our community for their continued support and patience during this time as we work through a diligent, time-intensive process to restore systems as quickly, and as safely, as possible. To ensure all patients, staff, and stakeholders are kept informed during this event, we will continue to post updated information on our website as it becomes available."

Previous story:

A cyberattack at Ascension hospitals has affected hospital operations nationwide, the nonprofit said Wednesday.

“There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption,” said the statement from Ascension, a health system that includes 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states. Ascension recommended that its healthcare clients temporarily cut off network connections to Ascension as the incident is being addressed, according to the statement.

All patients in the Wichita area are being diverted to other hospitals for treatment, Stephanie Birmingham with Sedgwick County said.

A spokesman for Wesley Medical Center says they have seen a slight uptick in patients since the incident. 

"We are here for our community, and would encourage those who need emergency care to visit any of our emergency rooms," the spokesperson at Wesley said. 

Wesley and Ascension Via Christi have the only level-one trauma facilities in town. 

If any sensitive patient data was compromised in the hack, Ascension will notify those affected, the nonprofit said.

Healthcare providers across the US have suffered numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, some of which have disrupted patient care and cost health providers millions, if not billions, of dollars. A February ransomware attack on a subsidiary of healthcare giant UnitedHealth.