The Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a welcome reception for Chip Camp, the recently hired chief executive officer of Brownwood Regional Medical Center.

The event was well attended by chamber members, business leaders, and city officials to welcome Camp and his wife Barbara to the community.

Chip was born Claude E. Camp, III in Auburn, Alabama shortly after Auburn University (API) won their first national championship.  He grew up in central Alabama graduating high school from John T. Morgan Academy in the mid 70s.  Fortunately, he grew up an Auburn fan and knew the significance of “War Eagle” before pass the milk.

He began his healthcare career in 1977 as an aide in the radiology department of Selma Medical Center, where he met his future wife Barbara Leigh Howard.  After additional training, he worked for four years as a respiratory therapy technician while attending the University of Alabama Birmingham earning his BS in Science/Physics and a certificate in Nuclear Medicine.  After UAB, he worked as both a staff technologist and department director in Nuclear Medicine with hospitals in Alabama and Georgia.  He returned to Birminghamin the 1980s to pursue further education, completing a Masters in Healthcare Administration from UAB before entering his residency.  Chip began his management career as Director of Risk Management, which encompassed responsibility for risk management and quality improvement at a large medical center in Alabama.

Chip took a position in the early 90s as an Associate Administrator, and after working to expand services to include Neuro Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer where he served for a few years.  Chip took his first Chief Executive Officer position in Idabel, Oklahoma and has served in this position in hospitals from Tennessee to New Mexico.  Chip accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer with Brownwood Regional Medical Center in July of this year.

He is currently a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE)

Chip and Barbara have three children, Katie Lawhon, Beau Camp, and Jessica Camp.  Katie is a registered nurse working on a family and currently resides in Arkansas, although she will return to Birmingham, Alabama in a year.  Beau is operational manager for a private ambulance service in South Alabama; he also works as a paramedic for the same service.  Jessica is a freshman at Henderson State Universitywhere she is a physics major attending on a band scholarship.  Barbara is a RRT with a clinical neonatal specialty and works primarily in intensive care settings with Children’s hospitals.  The Camp’s also have four grandchildren, Kaylan and Mary Grace in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Tabri and Clae in Dothan, Alabama.  His grandchildren call him e-daddy, and they are a main focus of his life.

Pictured above is Camp (left) speaking to Howard Payne University President Dr. Bill Ellis (right) during the reception on Wednesday.