BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- On Oct. 31, a theft occurred at Kern Medical Center outside the Information Services Department located at 1700 Mount Vernon Ave.

Documents that were intended for the KMC Laboratory Department were stolen from a set of external lockers outside the KMC Information Systems building, according to Paul Hensler, Chief Executive Officer for Kern Medical Center.

These documents contained confidential patient information including the name, date of birth, social security number, physician, laboratory test data, medical record number and/or account number of KMC patients, Hensler said.

Since then, KMC has taken appropriate steps to notify the California Department of Public Health and the patients involved, and to make sure patient information is secure and to prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future, Hensler said.

As required by law, KMC reported the incident to the Bakersfield office of California Department of Public Health on Nov. 5, Hensler said.

The matter also has been referred to Bakersfield Police Department for investigation and possible prosecution of the person(s) responsible.

A copy of the patient letter is available at www.kernmedicalcenter.com

Patients can contact KMC toll free at 1-877-800-5530 for any questions regarding the breach.

They may also email KMC at breachinfo@kernmedctr.com. When contacting KMC, patients are asked to reference the code in the bottom right corner of their patient letter.

We have no evidence at this time that the theft was for the purposes of identity theft. However, we have notified the affected patients and advised them of protective measures regarding their credit files.