News

VHC re-routes ambulances after systems issue

Ambulance (file photo)

Ambulances were temporarily re-routed to other hospitals after VHC Health suffered some technology issues this morning.

The re-routing for non-critical cases was broadcast to Arlington County Fire Department medics around 10:30 a.m. As of 12:45 p.m., another broadcast suggested that the hospital was back on line for ambulances.

A spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow that technology issues prompted a re-route notice out of “an abundance of caution.”

“VHC Health is experiencing intermittent downtime of some non-critical systems,” the VHC spokesperson wrote. “The redirection is in an abundance of caution. Care for all patients on campus is not impacted.”

VHC did not directly answer a question about what caused the systems issue. American hospitals have been dealing with a wave of cyberattacks and ransomware hacks, sometimes knocking systems out for weeks at a time, various news outlets have reported.

Formerly known as Virginia Hospital Center, VHC Health opened an expansion of its Arlington campus earlier this year and has been expanding to other Northern Virginia locations.