Women alerted to possible identity theft

EVANSVILLE -- Two computers containing health records on people in the state's Breast and Cervical Cancer Program were stolen, leaving more than 7,500 Indiana women at risk of identity theft, officials said.\nThe computers were taken earlier this month from a health center in Jeffersonville, Ind. The center contracted with the Indiana Department of Health to manage information in the state's Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, said department spokesman Erik Deckers.\nData stored on the computers might include a person's name, address, Social Security number or medical or other information, Deckers said. Two passwords protect the data, and the stolen computers can no longer access the information.\nThe department mailed 7,700 letters to those who might be vulnerable to identity theft. The department recommends requesting credit reports, watching for unusual activity and placing fraud alerts on credit records.\nThe Jeffersonville Police Department is investigating the theft. Officials say someone smashed a window to get inside the Family Health Center of Clark County in Jeffersonville, located across the Ohio River from Louisville, Ky.\nEvansville resident Sharylon Douglass, 50, said she was scared and angry when she learned that she could be open to identity theft. The 13-year cervical cancer survivor said she did not know her health information was part of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program until she received a letter from the state health department.\n"My information has been given out to a location that I've never even heard of," she said. "Where was their security system when this took place?"\nDeckers said the Family Health Center has installed a new security system and said new security measures for electronic data will be implemented statewide.\nMedical providers that are part of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program offer free or discounted exams and provide information to the state department of health to receive reimbursement, Deckers said. The Indiana BCCP is part of the national BCCP public health program.