Lake Region Healthcare warns patients after year-long data breach investigation

Lake Region Healthcare is mailing notices to potentially impacted patients after detecting unauthorized access to its network on May 19, 2025 and finishing its investigation on June 5, 2026. The Fergus Falls health system is offering complimentary identity theft protection and has set up a response line at 1-844-507-9987 for patients who have questions or need help enrolling.

The information involved may have included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical record numbers, patient account numbers, health insurance information, contact details, medical and treatment information, government-issued identification and financial information. Not every category applied to every person, and Lake Region Healthcare is not aware of unauthorized use of the information.

Patients whose information may have been exposed should watch explanation-of-benefits statements, healthcare records, financial accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity. Lake Region Healthcare is also recommending a one-year fraud alert on credit files.

Lake Region Healthcare says outside cybersecurity professionals helped investigate the incident, and the review took more than a year from the date the unauthorized access was first detected. Federal HIPAA breach rules require covered entities to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about unsecured protected health information breaches, and incidents affecting 500 or more people must be reported without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 calendar days after discovery.

Lake Region Healthcare is an independent, community-owned and governed nonprofit headquartered in Fergus Falls, serving west-central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. In a 2023 notice about a vendor incident, the system operated two hospitals, 10 clinics, a cancer center, a senior living community and other health and wellness services, with more than 1,100 employees and 120 physicians and advanced practice providers. That earlier case involved notification letters to 1,390 LRH patients and a narrower set of information.

Its current site ranks the organization among the top 100 rural hospitals in the nation and among the best hospitals in Minnesota. The dedicated response line is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.