Thieves Steal 12K Patient Records From Medical Office: Patch PM

BEVERLY, MA —It's Thursday, June 25. Here's what Patch has been covering on the North Shore and across Massachusetts today.

It's the latest massive data breach, and this one could leave a lot of North Shore residents at risk of having their identities stolen. A Beverly healthcare provider notified patients this week that 12,000 confidential patient records were stolen on April 16.

North Shore Pain Management said the hackers had accessed its system and gotten access to records that include names, dates of birth, social security numbers, health insurance information and, in some cases, payment and credit card information. The company discovered the breach on April 21.

Also On The North Shore

Swampscott Recall Effort Moves Forward

Swampscott has certified an affidavit brought forth by resident Nicolas Scibelli to recall Selectman Don Hause. The backers of the effort now have 20 days to get 15 percent of Swampscott's 11,017 registered voters to sign a petition to force a recall election. Here's what the rest of the recall process looks like.

Salem Arrests Plummeted Under Stay-At-Home Orders

Salem police made 381 arrests between Jan. 1 and June 22, putting the department on pace to fall far below the 1,347 arrests it made in 2019. Salem Police Chief Mary Butler released the arrest data to city council to show the breakdown of arrests by race since 2016. But the data also shows the impact stay-at-home advisories during the coronavirus crisis had on crime in Salem.

Peabody Records One Coronavirus Death In Latest Weekly Report

That's big news for a city that was one of the hardest hit in Massachusetts by the pandemic, thanks to its high concentration of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The newest report includes six new cases, bringing the city's total to 1,044 confirmed coronavirus cases since the first case was confirmed in March.

Across Massachusetts

• Kids will need to wear masks and will be told to wash their hands several times throughout the day if schools reopen this fall. But the preliminary reopening guidelines from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education don't set limits on class size. Patch has developed a Q&A for parents to help them understand the plan as it stands now.
• GNC filed for bankruptcy and, in the process, closed six Massachusetts stores.
• Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey missed 34 of 42 votes in May. "When it matters, he's definitely in town," an aide to Markey said of his 80 percent absence rate. U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III is challenging Markey in September's Democratic primary.

And, finally....

Need to get out of the house tonight? Kowloon in Saugus opens its pop-up drive-in theater with a performance by the Platters at 6 p.m. The first movie will be shown Tuesday at 7 p.m., when you can catch E.T.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).