Network disruption impacting services at PIH Health hospitals across SoCal

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- A network disruption is impacting services at PIH Health hospitals across Southern California, leaving some patients unable to get a hold of their doctors and even causing some surgeries to be canceled.

The disruption, which is affecting their application and communication systems, started on Sunday when some type of virus infected a portion the hospital's network. The impacted hospitals are in Whittier, Downey and Los Angeles.

The disruption means the hospitals cannot make or receive calls, respond to voice or internet messages or review schedules. However, its offices remain open.

The health system says its network has been taken offline as a precaution while forensic specialists investigate the outage.

Patients with scheduled in-person appointments are being asked to arrive early. If any procedures are canceled, patients are being notified directly.

It remains unclear who is responsible for the outage and a potential motive. It's also not known whether any patient information has been compromised.

Hospital officials released a statement, which reads in part: "We are currently working with the assistance of a third-party cyber forensic specialists. At this time, we cannot provide a timeline for when our investigation will be complete."