Cedar County Memorial Hospital Updates on IT Disruption
Update September 10, 2026
On August 14, an information technology (IT) disruption necessitated the voluntary shutdown of our IT networks. While our network and most online systems were restored within one week, our electronic health record system, Meditech, remained offline for two weeks as part of a systematic review process, before being safely restored on August 28.We continue to work with external forensic experts and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate this event. Because this investigation is ongoing, limited details are available to share at this time.
HIPAA law requires hospitals to notify any patients whose information may have been impacted by an incident like this within 60 days of the incident's discovery. If the investigation determines that patient information was affected, we will notify those patients directly and in accordance with the law.
We also want to share how care for our community continued during the time our systems were down. Using our comprehensive downtime procedures, our teams:
●Cared for 170 patients in the Emergency Department
●Admitted 12 patients, including 1 swing bed, 3 inpatient, and 8 observation
●Saw 303 patients at our Medical Mall Clinic and 203 patients in our Specialty Clinic
●Completed 15 surgical procedures and 286 radiology scans
"We are grateful to our clinical and support staff for their steady, skilled care of our patients and communities throughout this event," said CCMH Chief Executive Officer Don Carpenter. "We thank our IT team and external recovery partners for their continued work, and members of our communities who have been so generous in their patience and support for the hospital during this stressful time."
We remain committed to transparency and will share further updates as verifiable information becomes available.
Update August 28, 2026
We are pleased to share that Cedar County Memorial Hospital has returned to routine operations. Our IT department and external recovery partners have successfully completed all system reviews and safety checks, bringing our electronic health record (EHR) system fully back online. We have ended ambulance diversion, accepting patients to the ER as usual.What our patients can expect at the hospital and Medical Mall Clinic:
The patient registration process has returned to normal, and providers will have access to patient records as usual.
Clinical and doctors' orders can now be received and processed electronically.
The MHealth patient portal is fully accessible.
We thank our patients and families for their trust, patience, and support during our downtime procedures. We also extend our deepest gratitude to our IT team and external recovery experts. Their diligence and expertise allowed us to restore operations swiftly while maintaining the absolute integrity, stability, and security of our networks. Finally, we commend our entire clinical and support staff for their extraordinary commitment to providing exceptional care to the community throughout this event.
Our teams will have some more work to do behind the scenes as they enter manually kept records into the EHR. An investigation into the event that initiated the IT downtime continues and there is no new information to share at this time.
Original Press Release
August 23, 2026 — On Friday afternoon, August 14, Cedar County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) experienced a disruption affecting its information technology (IT) networks. In response, hospital IT teams immediately took proactive steps, which included temporarily taking certain computer systems offline and pausing network access to protect the integrity of hospital systems.While this rapid response was necessary, it has resulted in a temporary internet outage and the downtime of the hospital's patient portal and Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, affecting all hospital services including Medical Mall Clinic.
As of today, the hospital's IT department has made significant progress and has restored function to most of the IT infrastructure. Remaining systems continue to be brought back online in a careful, methodical manner to ensure stability.
Patient safety remains the organization's absolute priority. The hospital immediately activated its comprehensive downtime procedures across all departments, which are designed precisely to ensure the continuity of safe, high-quality clinical care during network interruptions. CCMH has instructed patients to bring physical orders during the system’s downtime as well as a list of current medications.
Because medical imaging systems cannot currently transmit files to radiologists, the hospital safely and voluntarily placed its emergency department on partial diversion for the time being. Under this standard protocol, only trauma or critical patients requiring immediate advanced imaging are routed to neighboring facilities equipped to provide uninterrupted diagnostic services; the emergency department otherwise remains open. All other hospital operations continue under strict safety guidelines.
"Each department trains regularly for IT interruptions, and the clinical staff successfully transitioned to backup procedures the moment this disruption occurred," said Don Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer of CCMH. "We understand there are a lot of concerns circulating, and we want to share the facts. Our hospital is open, and staff are safely caring for patients using standard backup protocols."
The hospital asks for the community's patience as teams work diligently to finalize the safe restoration of IT systems and conduct a thorough forensic investigation into the nature of disruption. Cedar County Memorial Hospital is committed to transparency. Further official updates will be shared as verifiable facts become available.
About Cedar County Memorial Hospital
Cedar County Memorial Hospital, located in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, has been serving Cedar County and the surrounding communities since 1960. With 10 acute care beds and a dedicated team of more than 130 healthcare professionals, the hospital provides a full range of services, including 24-hour emergency care, advanced diagnostic imaging (CT and MRI), clinical laboratory testing, surgicalMedia Contact:
Natalie EberhardMarketing Specialist
CCMH Marketing Dept
417.876.3745