Signature Healthcare, the operator of Brockton Hospital in Massachusetts, confirmed on April 7, 2026, that it is responding to a cybersecurity incident that has disrupted several of its information systems. The event, which was first detected on Monday, April 6, has forced the medical center to divert ambulance traffic and cancel specific outpatient services as technical teams work to contain the breach and restore network integrity.
According to official statements from the health system, the incident was triggered by the identification of suspicious activity within a localized portion of the network. In response, Signature Healthcare activated its incident response protocols, which included taking affected systems offline to prevent further spread. This move necessitated a transition to downtime procedures, requiring clinical staff to utilize manual, paper-based documentation methods for patient care instead of electronic health records. The hospital remains offline as of Tuesday morning, with IT teams working to assess the scope of the disruption.
The operational impact of the digital outage is significant. As of April 7, ambulance traffic is being diverted from Brockton Hospital to other regional facilities to ensure patients receive uninterrupted emergency care. Additionally, the hospital announced the cancellation of all chemotherapy infusion appointments scheduled for Tuesday at the Greene Cancer Center. Patients affected by these cancellations have been instructed to contact the center directly to reschedule their treatments. The health system has not yet provided a timeline for when these specialized services will resume.
Further service interruptions include the temporary closure of Signature Healthcare’s retail pharmacies located at 110 Liberty Street in Brockton and 1 Donalds Way in East Bridgewater. While ambulatory physician practices and urgent care centers remain open, the health system warned that patients should expect delays as staff navigate the challenges of manual record-keeping and limited system access. Officials noted that the transition to paper charts is a standard safety measure intended to maintain care quality during system outages.
Despite the digital disruption, several critical departments remain operational. Signature Healthcare confirmed that inpatient services and walk-in emergency care continue to be available at the 680 Centre Street facility. Furthermore, scheduled surgeries and specialized procedures, such as endoscopies, are proceeding as planned, provided they do not rely on the compromised digital infrastructure.
Signature Healthcare has engaged external cybersecurity experts to assist in the forensic investigation and the recovery process. As of the latest update, hospital officials have not disclosed the specific nature of the cyberattack, the extent of the data affected, or a definitive timeline for the restoration of full system functionality. The health system emphasized that its primary focus remains on maintaining patient safety and high-quality care during the recovery phase. This incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of healthcare infrastructure to network intrusions that necessitate immediate shifts to manual operations.