RICHMOND, Va., July 27, 2009 — After an extensive national search, the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) Board of Directors today announced that it has selected Chip Decker as its chief executive officer, effective July 24, 2009.
Decker has served as interim CEO of RAA since the end of April and was chief operating officer prior to the departure of RAA’s long-time CEO, Jerry Overton. The board’s vote to appoint Decker was unanimous.
“The Board of the Richmond Ambulance Authority is delighted that Chip Decker has accepted our offer to become our CEO,” said Dr. Joseph McMenamin, chairman of the Richmond Ambulance Authority Board of Directors. “Given his extensive experience in EMS, including both his admirable performance as COO and, more recently, as our interim CEO, we are confident that under Chip’s leadership we will successfully meet the clinical and financial challenges we face. We look forward to many years of maintaining and enhancing the high quality of service that Richmond has come to expect in prehospital
care.”
“Richmond Ambulance Authority has long been an industry leader in clinical and operational excellence,” said Decker. “We have a great team of people here, and I am honored to be selected to lead this world-class EMS system.” Decker has thirty years of emergency medical services experience, both as a volunteer and as vice president of a large for-profit ambulance service prior to joining the Richmond Ambulance Authority in 2007. He is a nationally registered paramedic and served two three-year terms on the Virginia EMS Advisory Board from 2001-2006.
