Nova Southeastern University Issues Letters to Patients Regarding Stolen Hard Drives with Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine Lab Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (NSU) announced today that it is notifying patients of an incident involving two stolen hard drives containing lab information from its Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine. This incident did not affect all NSU patients; only certain patients who had specialty lab studies through the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine.

On March 2, 2017, NSU learned that two unencrypted portable hard drives were stolen from an NSU employee on February 28, 2017. NSU immediately began a search for the hard drives, reported the incident to law enforcement, and conducted a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, to date, the hard drives have not been located.

NSU’s investigation determined that the hard drives contained information related to an NSU laboratory and included patient information of approximately 1,100 individuals. The hard drives contained information related to an NSU laboratory and included patients’ names, providers’ names, and lab results. The drives did not contain social security numbers or financial information. While NSU has no indication that any patient information has been used in any way, NSU will begin sending letters to affected patients on May 1, 2017 and has established a dedicated call center to assist patients with questions.

NSU takes the security and confidentiality of its patients’ privacy very seriously. To help prevent future incidents, NSU is reinforcing through staff education its privacy policies in the handling of patient information and in the use of portable hard drives.

For additional information about this incident, please visit the NSU website at nova.edu/healthcare/ or nova.edu/nim. Patients with questions should call 1-888-752-9987.

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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU and realizingpotential.nova.edu for more information on the largest fundraising campaign in NSU history.

April 28, 2017

Contact Information:
Julie Spechler | Director, PR & Marketing
Nova Southeastern University
Mobile: (954) 591-3361or Julies@nova.edu