WESTERLY – Social Security numbers and other private data for about 2,000 Westerly Hospital patients were posted online, at a Web site that was discovered early Wednesday afternoon, the hospital reports.

“It is unclear at this time how the information was accessed,” Westerly Hospital said in a news release. “... The hospital will contact you personally if you have been affected.”

Who posted the data and how long it was available also remain unclear.

The breach appears to have affected only patients who visited the hospital on certain days in January. The data posted – from the first page of the patients' medical records – also included birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, insurance data and in some cases the reason for their visit. The full medical records were never available.

The Westerly police were alerted to the breach by a woman who had found her own data in a Web search using Google; the police then notified the hospital, the R.I. State Police and the Federal Bureau of investigation.

The hospital's technolgy staff traced the site, finding it was posted on a Yahoo server; a hospital lawyer and Yahoo attorneys succeeded in shutting down the site at about 5:40 p.m. Meanwhile, hospital administrators notified state and federal authorities and major insurers.

Federal law enforcement agencies, the hospital and Yahoo are investigating the incident; an outside security firm the hospital is aiding in the probe.

Additional information is available at www.westerlyhospital.com or by calling the hospital's special public hotline at 348-3786.