Theft of payroll documents left 1,800 Excela employees' data at risk

A stolen briefcase containing payroll documents from an Excela Health employee this fall left the personal data of 1,800 workers at risk, hospital system officials confirmed.

Authorities said they were notified around 6 a.m. Oct. 8 of the theft of a briefcase from an unlocked car parked outside a home on North Gallatin Avenue in Uniontown. Police were told the theft occurred sometime during the night, Lt. Thomas Kolencik said.

“Someone entered the unlocked car and took a briefcase. There were no fingerprints, and we have no suspects,” Kolencik said.

He declined to release the name of the victim, saying the theft was still under investigation.

The unnamed employee was authorized to have the information for quarterly reports, Excela spokeswoman Robin Jennings said. She said the vehicle had been locked at the time of the theft.

Told that police said the vehicle was unlocked, Jennings said she had no knowledge of that.

Excela has had no reports of identity theft or the unauthorized use of information, she said.

“Letters were mailed the third week in November from our third-party legal advisor as part of their due diligence process,” Jennings said. “Approximately 1,800 employees of Frick Hospital, Home Care & Hospice and the Excela Health Medical Group were impacted. We notified the employees, established a toll-free call center to address questions and arranged for credit bureau protection services for anyone involved.”

She declined to comment about whether the employee who had custody of the records was disciplined.

“Excela Health takes the safety and security of our employees’ personal information very seriously. While we have policies and procedures in place to safeguard that information, we are revisiting and reinforcing these policies to ensure maximum security for this sensitive data,” Jennings said.