SPOKANE, Wash. — Officials at The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane have notified more than 3,000 veterans whose Protected Health Information was potentially compromised after an equipment inventory determined that a vendor-issued laptop was missing.
According to a press release from the VA medical center, the laptop was discovered missing on August 7.
The release states the VA medical center is uncertain what information is compromised but “the information potentially at risk are full names, dates of birth, and social security numbers.”
In the release, officials said every veteran that may have had a hematology sample processed at the Mann-Grandstaff VA by the analyzer in question between April 2013 and May 2016 will receive a letter of notification.
“Honoring and serving America’s Veterans is our utmost priority. We at VA take information security very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect Veterans’ information. Leadership at Mann-Grandstaff VAMC has developed a new media sanitization policy to prevent this from happening in the future," the release states.
Officials at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center said veterans with questions about this incident may also write to the address below:
Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center
ATTN: Privacy Officer
4815 North Assembly Street
Spokane, WA 99205-6197
