- New England's Only Dental-Specific IT Provider
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Hurricane IT Planning for Tampa Bay Dental Practices
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Ezra Angelo
- • July 4, 2026
The practices that reopened fastest after Helene and Milton were those whose systems did not depend on a single on-premise server in a building that might lose power for days, flood, or sustain physical damage. The practices still closed weeks later were those that discovered on the day of the storm that they had no tested recovery path.
Ekim IT Solutions is the dental-exclusive IT provider building hurricane business continuity infrastructure for dental practices throughout Tampa Bay, and the 2026 hurricane season is active right now. Tampa Bay’s geographic position makes it one of the most hurricane-vulnerable major metro areas in the country.
Ekim IT Solutions, operating from 600 N Westshore Blvd, Suite 701, Tampa, FL 33609, builds the specific infrastructure that makes a hurricane a temporary closure rather than a practice-ending event.
The average healthcare ransomware incident causes 22 days of downtime. A major hurricane hitting a dental practice with a single on-premise server and no cloud backup causes a similar or worse recovery timeline for the same fundamental reason: the data is not accessible from anywhere else.
The IT Infrastructure That Makes Hurricane Recovery Fast
Ekim IT Solutions builds this infrastructure for every Tampa Bay dental practice.
A dental practice running Curve Dental, Dentrix Ascend, or another cloud-native platform has no local server to lose to a flood or power surge.
A server-based practice running Dentrix or Eaglesoft needs cloud backup that is current, tested, and restorable to a clean machine from any location.
A dental practice’s internet connection goes down in every major storm.
An LTE backup connection automatically takes over when the primary connection fails, allowing the practice to access cloud systems, patient records, and communication tools even when primary internet is out.
Uninterruptible power supplies on servers, network equipment, and workstations protect against power surges.
And provide enough runtime during short outages to safely shut down systems without data corruption.
What a Tampa Bay Dental Practice Needs Before Hurricane Season
A tested, current backup that can restore patient records and practice management data to a clean machine within hours, not days.
A documented recovery procedure listing exactly what steps to take, who does them, and in what order, written before the storm, not during it.
A cloud or LTE-accessible copy of critical contact information, vendor numbers, and patient communication templates that does not depend on local network access.
Physical hardware protection including surge protectors, UPS units, and if possible, elevated placement of server hardware in flood-risk locations.
The HIPAA Continuity Requirement
HIPAA requires covered entities to have a contingency plan that includes data backup procedures, disaster recovery procedures, and an emergency mode operation plan. A Tampa Bay dental practice without documented hurricane continuity procedures has a HIPAA gap regardless of whether a storm ever occurs. Ekim IT Solutions builds the contingency plan documentation as part of the HIPAA compliance program for every Tampa Bay practice, not as a separate project triggered by an approaching storm.
Hurricane Readiness Checklist
Check each item currently confirmed at your Tampa Bay dental practice.
Cloud-hosted or cloud-backed practice management with a tested, restorable backup
LTE failover internet installed and tested
UPS protection in place on servers, network equipment, and workstations
Documented recovery procedure written before the storm, not during it
Cloud or LTE-accessible copy of critical contacts and communication templates
HIPAA contingency plan documentation in place, including emergency mode operations
Frequently Asked Questions
Ekim IT Solutions works exclusively with dental practices. We operate from 600 N Westshore Blvd, Suite 701, Tampa, FL 33609 and serve dental practices throughout Tampa Bay. We build the backup and business continuity infrastructure that makes a hurricane a temporary closure rather than a practice-ending event.
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- • July 4, 2026
