BATON ROUGE - Personal information of thousands of patients treated at LSU-operated medical centers around the state may have been compromised, LSU Health New Orleans announced Friday.

The electronic breach impacted patients treated at several different facilities, including the former Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge and the interim LSU Hospital in New Orleans.

Potentially compromised patient information included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, and health insurance information. 

LSU Health New Orleans said the breach stemmed from an intrusion into an employee's email account which reportedly happened Sept. 15. The Health Care Services Division said it is not aware that the intruder actually accessed or misused any patient information in the employee’s mailbox.

"When the intrusion was discovered, the LSU Health Care Services Division’s Compliance and Privacy Department began the difficult and laborious process of identifying any patients whose information may have been compromised. While the exhaustive investigation has found thousands of patients, work continues to discover any others. Affected patients and the public are being notified."

The facilities affected can be found below. 

-Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence 
-Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma
-W. O. Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles
-The former Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge
-Bogalusa Medical Center in Bogalusa;
-University Medical Center in Lafayette
-Interim LSU Hospital in New Orleans

Anyone who received care at any of these facilities is advised to monitor their credit reports for any signs of potential identity theft.