Memorial Hermann Health System has agreed to pay $2.4 million and adopt a corrective action plan after being accused by the federal government of improperly disclosing a patient's name to members of the media in 2015.

The settlement was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The agreement stems from a September 2015 incident that drew national media attention and sparked uproar among immigrant rights activists: Blanca Borrego, a 44-year-old woman from Mexico who had been living in the United States illegally for more than a decade, had presented a fake Texas driver's license when she checked in for an appointment at a gynecologist office in the Kingwood area.

GOOD NEWS: Texas-based airline fares well in consumer survey

Memorial Hermann staff reported the forgery to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, leading to Borrego's arrest and imprisonment.

The controversial disclosure of Borrego's personal information to law enforcement officials was allowed under federal law, HHS concluded. However, in the days following the incident, Memorial Hermann staff shared her name in a press release sent to reporters and again during meetings with activists without first getting her permission to do so, HHS said.

Memorial Hermann had been seeking to assure activists that it is not the system's policy to ask for a patient's immigration status and to demonstrate that staff had not intended to get Borrego into trouble with immigration officials.

NEW BOSS: MD Anderson aiming for next president by end of summer

The media disclosures appeared to be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, federal officials said in the news release Wednesday.

Under the settlement, Memorial Hermann agreed to pay the $2.4 million fine and to implement a series of policy changes to prevent future privacy breaches.

A Memorial Hermann spokeswoman declined comment.