Top headlines of the week, Nov. 28 2025
Here are some stories you may have missed this week in central Ohio.
A past employee of a skilled-nursing health care company for seniors is suing their former employer for a data breach that exposed private health information.
Atrium Centers Management, headquartered in Columbus, has 27 skilled-nursing centers across Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan. According to the lawsuit, the company allegedly failed to “implement adequate and reasonable cybersecurity procedures and protocols” to protect the sensitive information of employees and patients both past and present, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is seeking class action status in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus.
The breach, which occurred in mid-October 2025, included Social Security numbers, demographic information, medical information and financial information, and according to the lawsuit, was preventable if not for the “negligence” of the health care company.
The former employee, on behalf of all individuals impacted by the data breach, also accuses Atrium of not notifying employees and patients until Nov. 9, roughly a month after the incident. That violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the lawsuit states, and a lack of “reasonable” security measures failed to follow Federal Trade Commission guidelines and further violated HIPAA.
In a notice on their website, Atrium said the company was “reviewing our policies, procedures and processes, and enhancing existing technical safeguards. We notified law enforcement and will also notify applicable regulatory authorities where necessary.”
The company declined to make any comment beyond the notice on their website.
The lawsuit claims authorities such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ohio Attorney General’s office had not been notified at the time of the filing on Dec. 3.
The former employee is pursuing compensatory damages to be determined by a jury, such as for out-of-pocket costs it will take to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft. The lawsuit is also demanding that Atrium improve their data security systems and fund “long-term and adequate credit monitoring services,” among other requests.
You can read the complaint here:
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
