Providence Data Breach Affects 22k Patients

Providence, a not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system headquartered in Renton, Washington, disclosed a data breach that affected 22,701 individuals in the United States.

The breach was disclosed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 16, 2026.

What happened in the Providence data breach

The available public filing did not detail how the breach occurred. Key facts, such as the specific type of cyberattack, the date(s) the breach took place, when the organization first discovered the incident and how long any unauthorized access may have continued, were not made publicly available at this time.

The specific types of personal or health information that may have been exposed were also not described in the available public filings reviewed for this article.

Additional details may become available as the investigation continues, as notification letters reach affected individuals or the organization discloses further information.

Providence's response to the breach

Providence filed the required breach report with federal health regulators, as mandated by law for incidents involving unsecured protected health information. This regulatory filing made the incident part of the public record.

Individuals who believe they may have been affected and have not yet received a notification letter from Providence may wish to contact the healthcare system directly through its website for more information.

Steps to take if your information was exposed

• Review any notification letters from Providence carefully for details about what specific information was involved and what protective services or resources the organization may be making available to those affected by the breach.
• Monitor health insurance statements by reviewing Explanation of Benefits documents for any medical services, claims or charges that were not expected or authorized, as unfamiliar entries could be a sign of medical identity theft.
• Check free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and review them for any unfamiliar accounts, hard credit inquiries or other suspicious activity that could indicate personal information has been misused.
• Place a fraud alert or credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus: Equifax (1-800-525-6285), Experian (1-888-397-3742) and TransUnion (1-800-680-7289).
• Be cautious of phishing attempts that reference Providence or this data breach by name, as scammers sometimes use real breach notifications to trick people into sharing personal information through fake emails, phone calls or text messages.