Chip Decker, CEO

Chip Decker serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the award winning and internationally recognized Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) and has overall responsibility for the Richmond Emergency Medical Services system.  His duties extend to administering the high-performance system design, employing innovative equipment and treatment modalities to assist with improving patient outcomes and providing the City of Richmond with clinical excellence in the most economically efficient way possible.  Chip served as Chief Operating Officer for RAA prior to his promotion to Chief Executive Officer in 2009. 

His experience in EMS spans over 40 years and includes positions both volunteer and career.  Chip has worked for the City of Roanoke, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Office of Emergency Medical Services as a Program Representative and as the BLS Training Coordinator.  In 1996, Chip became the Chief Operating Officer for a private ambulance service prior to joining the Richmond Ambulance Authority. 

Chip is the recipient of a number of awards and recognition for his dedication to the EMS field.  This includes the Old Dominion EMS Alliance (ODEMSA) regional award for Outstanding EMS Leadership, a certificate of recognition for outstanding service from the Virginia Attorney General for his EMS work in response to the Pentagon following the 9/11 attacks, an award of commendation from the Virginia Office of EMS, life member of the Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad, and the Henrico Division of Police Meritorious Unit Citation for his service as Senior Volunteer Medic and member of their S.W.A.T. team.

He has extensive community affiliations, both past and present.  This includes the Virginia EMS Advisory Board, Chairman of the Advisory Board’s Transportation Committee, member of the ODEMSA Board of Directors, the Virginia Association of Governmental EMS Administrators (VAGEMSA) and past-Secretary of the Virginia Ambulance Association.  Chip is a member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) Board of Directors, where he also served as President for two consecutive terms.  The Academy consists of member organizations represented by high performance EMS and mobile healthcare providers in both the U.S. and abroad.  Its mission is to lead the transformation of EMS to mobile integrated healthcare through the development of high-performance systems and setting the standard for clinical excellence, accountability, public education, research and economic efficiency.  He currently serves as a member of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation’s (VPSF) Board of Directors.  The VPSF has served public safety individuals and their families for over three decades, remaining steadfast in its mission to honor and remember Virginia's public safety heroes who have selflessly given their lives in the line of duty.

Chip is also a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Grant Advisory Council working on the development of a Community Collaborative Partnership for First Responders Addiction and Recovery Training Consortium.  Chip also serves as an Affiliate Professor with VCU’s Department of Health Administration, School of Allied Health.