Widespread computer outage at University of Utah causes hospital to stop taking in patients

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SALT LAKE CITY — A humidity problem Tuesday triggered a massive shutdown of university computer servers, stopping the University of Utah Hospital from receiving new emergency patients.

The University of Utah posted on social media that there was a widespread IT outage in its data center. Reports of the U.’s electronic systems being down started around 3:45 p.m.

Crews are working to restore connectivity and get the servers running again, but there is no estimated time for recovery.

Because of the outdoor humidity, teams were adjusting the humidity level of the room where the servers are located. In the process the room became too humid, triggering an automatic shutdown by the room’s temperature and humidity controls, communications director Kathy Wilets said.

The hospital is not taking in any new emergency patients via ambulances or helicopter but patient care at all inpatient facilities is functioning normally, university officials said.

“This is something that we plan for and that we practice for. It sounds big and it sounds catastrophic, but I just think it’s important to remember this is the way that we used to work all the time,” U. of U. Health spokeswoman Suzanne Winchester said. All communications at the hospital are being done through pen and paper until the server issue is resolved.

According to the University of Utah’s website, applications such as Canvas, Peoplesoft, Ultimate Kronos Group, VPN, UMail, University of Utah Home Page, Voice Systems and more are down.

The university will not be canceling classes, Wilets said.

The outage also affected Utah Transit Authority’s platform signs and vehicle tracking systems for a few hours Tuesday. UTA said on social media at 7:50 p.m. the server issues were fixed and both signs and tracking systems are available again.

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