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Last month's cyberattack on Ascension hospitals nationwide happened because of what an investigation determined was a simple employee mistake. ... After bringing in a third-party company to investigate the attack, Ascension says the attacker gained access to its systems when an employee working at one of their facilities accidentally downloaded a malicious file, according to a release from Ascension. (Powers, 6/13)

Cybercriminals stole files from hospital system Ascension that likely contained personal information, Ascension said in a statement Wednesday, about a month after revealing it had fallen victim to a ransomware attack. Ascension said it now has evidence that the attackers took files from seven of the system’s 25,000 file servers. (Schencker, 6/13)

The emergency room at Community First Medical Center in the Portage Park neighborhood was placed on bypass Thursday. This meant the hospital, at 5645 W. Addison St., would not accept any new patients—including those coming by ambulance. The Illinois Department of Public Health said this was because of sweltering temperatures inside the hospital. Earlier this month, staff at the hospital said they were working in 80- and 90-degree temperatures inside the ER. (Cramer, 6/13)

The only hospital in the city of Alameda, the public Alameda Hospital, will no longer perform elective surgeries after June 30 and plans to send those patients to two sister hospitals in Oakland and San Leandro. Hospital leaders said the move to reroute elective procedures is to “ensure the long-term viability” of Alameda Hospital and help offset the cost of seismic upgrades the hospital must complete by 2030 to remain operational. But many nurses and doctors worry the move will compromise patient care. (Ho, 6/13)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Indiana Weighs Hospital Monopoly As Officials Elsewhere Scrutinize Similar Deals

Locals in this city of 58,000 are used to having to wait at railroad crossings for one of the dozens of daily cargo trains to pass through. But a proposed merger between the two hospitals on either side of the city could exacerbate the problem in emergencies if the hospitals shut down some services, such as trauma care, at one site, which the proposal cites as a possibility. Tom High, fire chief of a nearby township, said some first responders would be forced to transport critical patients farther, risking longer delays, if they become what locals call “railroaded” by a passing train. (Liss, 6/14)

Florida health systems are waiting for Medicaid hospital-at-home reimbursement to kick in as the state joins a growing group reimbursing for such services, though other states remain cautious about paying for a program with an uncertain future. Approximately 330 hospitals across 37 states offer at-home acute care services through a waiver the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created during the COVID-19 pandemic for Medicare and fee-for-service Medicaid. (Eastabrook, 6/13)

Oracle Corp.’s massive contract to modernize the health records system with the US Department of Veterans Affairs has been extended 11 months following renegotiations. The extension will have “an emphasis on improved fiscal and performance accountability,” the VA said Thursday in a statement. The VA is working toward “resuming site deployments in fiscal year 2025,” it said. (Ford, 6/13)

Two large health care organizations that serve historically disadvantaged populations in the northwestern Denver metro area — one that focuses on physical health care, the other focused on mental health care — have announced plans to merge. (Ingold, 6/14)

Lawmakers, top agency officials and private sector leaders are bullish on the potential of new medical technology diagnostics to alter the health care system, but they acknowledge barriers remain. Those include artificial intelligence, next-generation diagnostic testing and precision medicine. And to examine their promise and potential roadblocks, POLITICO spoke with medical experts and government leaders at a summit in Washington on Thursday. (Leonard, 6/13)