TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Ascension Via Christi in Kansas continues to use manual systems during the ongoing disruption from the cyberattack on Wednesday, May 8.

Ascension Via Christi officials said they continue to work alongside industry-leading cybersecurity experts to safely restore systems across their network. Officials indicated please know their hospitals and facilities remain open and art providing patient care. Patients should continue to visit the regional updates portion of the webpage for the latest information on a state-by-state basis.

According to the regional update for Ascension Via Christi in Kansas, all Ascension Via Christi hospitals, physicians, offices and care sites across Kansas remain open and operational. Despite the challenges posed by the recent ransomware incident, patient safety continues to be their utmost priority. Their dedicated doctors, nurses and care teams are demonstrating thoughtfulness and resilience as they use manual and paper based systems during the ongoing disruption to normal systems.

They thank the community for their patience and understanding as they navigate this unexpected situation. Their commitment to health and safety of their community remains their highest priority.

Ascension Via Christi officials said restoring Electronic Health Record (EHR) access has been among the top priorities of their recovery process. They are encouraged to report positive developments in these efforts and can announce that they have successfully restored EHR access in their Florida, Alabama, Austin, Tennessee and Maryland markets.

Ascension Via Christi officials said based on what they have learned about this process to date, they are working toward completing EHR restoration across their entire ministry by the end of the week ending June 14.

Officials said as EHR is restored across the entirety of their networks, clinicians will be able to access patient records as they did prior to this incident. While these are promising developments in their recovery efforts, their investigation into this incident remains ongoing, along with the remediation of additional systems. This is a complex process, and it will still take time to complete.

Additionally, Ascension Rx retail, home delivery and specialty pharmacy sites are now open and able to meet prescription needs. This means that healthcare providers are able to transmit prescriptions electronically and can send prescriptions to Ascension Rx pharmacies for their patients.

Ascension Via Christi noted finally, they again want to thank their patients and community for their support through this time and to their dedicated clinicians who continue to provide quality care.

Copyright 2024 WIBW. All rights reserved.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Florida and Kansas officials are accusing two petition circulators of forging voter signatures during campaigns to put an abortion rights measure to a vote in Florida and allow the No Labels party to put candidates on the Kansas ballot.

Jamie Johnson, 47, and George Andrews III, 30, both from Dade City, Florida, in the Tampa area, were in jail Wednesday, each on $150,000 bail. Johnson was being held in Sarpy County, Nebraska, south of Omaha, and Andrews in the Tampa area.

Each faces 20 felony charges in Florida, while in Kansas, Andrews faces 30 felony counts and Johnson, 19.

While Andrews has been in custody in Florida since February, authorities in both states couldn’t find Johnson until she was arrested a week ago in Nebraska. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the arrest Tuesday and said he is seeking to bring Johnson to Kansas for prosecution. She is scheduled to have a July 1 extradition hearing in Nebraska.

Kobach’s office said Andrews and Johnson together forged at least 46 signatures on petitions to get the centrist No Labels group recognized as a political party in Kansas, which allows it to put nominees on the November ballot.

Florida officials said Andrews and Johnson submitted a total of 133 invalid petitions in multiple counties during the effort to get the abortion rights measure on the November ballot.

Neither successful petition drive appears to have depended on the signatures the two submitted. In Kansas, No Labels needed more than 20,000, while in Florida, the figure was at least 891,500.

Still, Kobach said that with election fraud, “It doesn’t matter how far you run.”

“We will drag you back to Kansas and prosecute you,” Kobach said in a statement.

No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy said Wednesday that the Kansas case involves a former vendor’s subcontractor and that vendors are required to provide training for petition circulators and have a third party verify signatures.

“No Labels will fully cooperate with any inquiry,” Clancy said in an emailed statement.

A public defender representing Andrews in Florida did not return a telephone message Wednesday seeking comment. Tom Strigenz, a public defender for Johnson in Nebraska, said she does not have an attorney in Kansas and that she will fight extradition to both Florida and Kansas.

Stringenz couldn’t say whether Johnson was in Nebraska to circulate petitions for proposed ballot initiatives there. She has no ties the state, he said.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.