The school and hospital have set up Web sites and toll-free telephone numbers to answer questions from workers and patients.

Data losses involving universities and health care organizations aren't unusual. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which tracks breaches and other data misadventures, the most recent large loss to a university was a Feb. 2 disclosure by the University of Missouri about a January hack that involved files on nearly 4,000 researchers. On Jan. 26, meanwhile, tapes containing records of 50,000 members of Virginia-based Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield were stolen from a lock box.