Officials at the University of New Mexico Health System on Monday announced that they were diverting all ambulances and canceling all appointments due to a “cybersecurity issue” that is impacting patients at one of the state’s largest hospitals and at dozens of clinics across the state.

In an emailed statement Monday afternoon, UNM Health Sciences Center Communications Director Chris Ramirez said that patients should not show up to any UNM Health facilities Monday while UNM officials are “actively working to resolve the issue.”

The statement did not give more details about the nature of the cybersecurity issue or provide an estimate as to when the hospital and clinics would reopen to patients.

Image

UNM Hospital is the state’s only “Level I Trauma Center,” meaning it is certified to handle the most seriously injured patients. As the only such trauma center in a 400-mile radius, the hospital routinely accepts patients via helicopter or otherwise across a “rural, geographically distant population,” according to the hospital’s website.

The health system also operates several dozen clinics, most of which are in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County along with specialized facilities in Rio Rancho and Roswell.

Ramirez did not immediately respond to Source New Mexico’s emailed request for further comment Monday.

Shortly after noon on Monday, all UNM HSC users received an alert announcing a “network security breach” that instructed all employees to turn off and unplug all desktops and disconnect from hospital Wi-Fi on mobile devices.

The email does not specify when the situation would be resolved but notes that “security teams” are actively working to identify the issue.