Tulsa Emergency Care Provider Strengthens Security While Focusing on Patient Care

A Tulsa-based emergency care provider serves patients who need immediate medical attention around the clock. As part of a larger healthcare network spanning approximately 30 locations, the organization depends on secure and reliable technology to support clinical operations and protect sensitive patient information while maintaining continuity of care. Centre Technologies partners with their team to provide managed security services, threat detection, vulnerability management, Microsoft cloud services, and backup solutions that help support both day-to-day operations and long-term cybersecurity objectives.

The Challenge

According to Vizient's 2025 Emergency Department Forecast, Americans made approximately 139.8 million emergency department visits in 2024, and emergency department volumes are projected to grow another 5% over the next decade. That means more operational strain potentially without the staff to supply it.

To add insult to injury, cyber risks are growing more and more concerning.

The American Hospital Association reported that healthcare and public health organizations experienced 460 ransomware attacks and 182 data breach events in 2025, making healthcare the most targeted critical infrastructure sector for cyber threats.

Long story short, for emergency care providers, it's absolutely essential that facilities can access patient information, clinical systems, communications tools, and security controls otherwise they simply cannot provide adequate patient care. But threat actors will die trying to prevent them from it.

Healthcare organizations need technology partners that can help reduce risk while supporting sustainable patient care.

The Solution

Centre's relationship with the ER and hospital began long before today's cybersecurity challenges emerged. When the emergency care facility first opened in Tulsa, Centre helped design, deploy, and support the initial IT environment that allowed the hospital to launch on schedule and begin serving patients.

As the organization grew, Centre continued to support critical technology initiatives that kept pace with changing business and healthcare requirements. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Centre provided 24x7 support to help the hospital manage increased patient volumes and the significant demands placed on critical IT systems.

They've relied on Centre to help navigate changes in healthcare technology vendors. As clinical systems evolved, Centre helped ensure that key platforms including laboratory systems, radiology applications, revenue cycle technologies, and electronic health record platforms could communicate effectively while maintaining security and compliance requirements.

Today, they leverage several Centre solutions like:

• Secure Managed Services
• Managed Vulnerability Scanning
• Hosted Microsoft 365 Services
• Hosted Veeam Backup as a Service
• Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Beyond service delivery, Centre provides ongoing guidance that helps the healthcare network continuously strengthen its technology environment. The partnership supports proactive infrastructure planning, equipment refresh initiatives, security modernization projects, and recommendations that support long-term operational resilience.

When industry changes created new infrastructure challenges, Centre helped the organization transition away from VMware following Broadcom's licensing and pricing changes. Centre also supported their multifactor authentication (MFA) adoption and helped align security practices with Microsoft's evolving security recommendations as well as NIST guidance and OCR expectations for healthcare organizations.

Rather than taking a reactive approach, Centre works closely with the healthcare network's team to continuously evaluate security posture and identify opportunities for improvement. But the partnership extends beyond IT support. Centre regularly collaborates with their parent entity's leadership to discuss security strategy, evaluate emerging risks, and strengthen protections across all healthcare locations within the network. The result is a trickle down effect of secure support and services across their entire network.

A proactive approach helps the organization improve visibility into threats while supporting operational continuity for facilities that serve patients around the clock.

"Hands down, best support I have ever had."

IT Administrator
Healthcare Network in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Why Cybersecurity Matters for Emergency Departments 

Clinicians need rapid access to sensitive patient information that unauthorized threat actors would desperately love to steal. It's a reality that gets worse and worse each year. Add that to more patients with a thinning staffing problem, it's more than just an ER that needs some help.

Healthcare cybersecurity research from 2026 hits home just how serious the challenge has become. According to HIPAA Journal's 2026 Healthcare Data Breach Report, 772 large healthcare data breaches were reported during 2025, making it the worst year on record for healthcare data breaches. Those incidents exposed the protected health information of more than 139 million individuals.

The Health-ISAC 2025 Health Sector Cyber Threat Landscape Report identified ransomware, supply chain attacks, and medical device vulnerabilities among the most significant threats facing healthcare organizations.

For organizations providing emergency care, maintaining strong security controls is essential to protecting their data and preserving patient trust.

The Impact

Today, the healthcare organization in Tulsa benefits from a more mature security strategy supported by an experienced IT partner who is available 24x7 should anything happen.

Key Results From the Partnership with Centre: 

• Strategic security guidance supporting approximately 30 healthcare locations within the parent company's network
• Strengthened cybersecurity defenses across the healthcare network
• Identified vulnerabilities before they become larger issues
• Detected and responded to threats more quickly
• Protected sensitive healthcare information
• Maintained resilient backup and recovery capabilities
• Support for long-term security planning and strategy

The primary goal of these facilities is providing patients with rapid access to physicians and a highly personalized care experience. Reliable IT systems help make that possible by minimizing disruption and allowing medical professionals to work efficiently throughout the patient journey.

Most importantly, the organization has a newfound confidence that its technology environment is actively monitored and continually improved. Now their internal teams spend less time worrying about risks and more time supporting the patients they care about.

Supporting the Future of Healthcare Through Better Security

Emergency departments operate in one of the most demanding environments within healthcare. Every minute matters. Every system matters. Every security decision matters. We're here 24 hours, 7 days a week to make sure all of that is covered.

For this Tulsa emergency care provider, technology has become a critical enabler of both patient care and business operations. From helping launch the facility to supporting its response during the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthening cybersecurity across a growing healthcare network, Centre has served as a long-term technology partner focused on improving resilience, security, and operational performance.

If you're a hospital, ER, or a free standing clinic that wants to strengthen your security and stay out of the news, give us a call. We can be your IT team or an extension of the one you have in place. Your call.