Break-in poses safety threat to Multnomah County Overall health Division sufferers

The Multnomah County Overall health Division started notifying more than two,000 sufferers Friday that a month-old safety breach might have place their individual info at danger.

An individual broke into the Gladys McCoy Overall health Division headquarters in Old Town on the evening of Feb. 17 and the county notified police on Feb. 21 following discovering the burglary, county officials stated.

The suspect entered rooms in the McCoy constructing that contained paper records listing names, Social Safety numbers, addresses and speak to info of sufferers who obtain care in Multnomah County, according to the county.

The burglar also might have accessed employee economic and individual documents, investigators stated. The county reported quite a few stolen products, such as a laptop and client cellphones.

Investigators are not certain if the burglar viewed or removed individual files, but the county is identifying sufferers who had been potentially impacted, officials stated in a news release. They need to obtain letter notifications by subsequent week.

A county spokesperson stated officials do not think records from the Multnomah County STD Clinic, Tuberculosis Clinic or the Student Overall health Centers – all stationed in the headquarters – had been impacted, and no other customers of other Multnomah County departments had been involved.

In light of the breach, the county’s safety group did further education on how to sweep the constructing for trespassers and when to notify authorities, officials stated.

Impacted customers and staff can get in touch with a hotline at 1-800-939-4170 to ask inquiries or access cost-free identity protection solutions.

Portland police arrested 39-year-old Ruben Turner on Wednesday for allegedly breaking into the offices, a Police Bureau spokesperson stated. He is accused of two counts of second-degree burglary.

–Lisa Moreno lmoreno@oregonian.com