Camp CAMP volunteer counselor Athreya Dhruva and Camper Maronge Curtis
Fred received the Mary Greene-Noble Special Achievement Award for his outstanding leadership and service on the Texas Pediatric Society board and committees on the Uninsured, Medical Education, and Children with Disabilities. “His dedication to the most vulnerable children is unprecedented.
CENTERPOINT, Texas (PRWEB)
December 16, 2022
43 years ago, three USAF pediatricians at Lackland AFB brought together 32 children with disabilities for a weekend camp-out to give a young disabled boy a chance to “ride a horse like John Wayne.” These campers were not accepted to other camps – even those for children with special needs – due to the severity of their medical conditions or disabilities
Fast forward to 2022…….and that weekend has evolved into Children’s Association for Maximum Potential (CAMP), which now continues to offer a true camp experience year-round to thousands of individuals (ages 5 – 55) with medical complexity (e.g., diagnosis such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Cerebral Palsy, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spina Bifida, visual impairment, and/or hearing impairment as well as a myriad of genetic and metabolic disorders). Nine six-day summer sessions will be held in the picturesque Texas Hill Country at CAMP’s 55-acre property located directly on the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas. Campers can participate in many activities including canoeing, horseback riding, swimming, music, recreation, karaoke, arts & crafts, outdoor cooking, and so much more. Everything is adapted to meet the needs of the individual camper, so they experience success.
CAMP is heavily recruiting healthcare volunteers (physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and other health and allied health professionals) for its nine summer camp sessions in 2023. Healthcare volunteers can earn CEUs as they meet the medical and daily care needs of campers and staff.
“Our volunteers leave CAMP with a deeper compassion for all walks of life, as well as lifelong friendships,” says CAMP’s Chief Program Officer, Brandon G. Briery, PhD. “Many young volunteers pursue careers in the healthcare fields because of their experiences at CAMP; many of our healthcare volunteers have been with us for 30+ years.”
Fredrick A. McCurdy, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAP, FACPE, is one such longtime healthcare volunteer….and so much more. Fred is one of the pediatricians who founded CAMP 43 years ago AND has continued to serve as a critical healthcare volunteer every year since. He is one of the professionals teaching CAMP’s Developmental Disabilities Review Course—offering accredited continuing professional education credit at no cost to the participant. He also has served on the CAMP Board of Directors for many terms, including his stent as one of the founding Board Members.
Fred’s long legacy as healthcare volunteer is even more valuable looking at his vita. Currently Fred is the STAR Kids Medical Director for the Driscoll Health Plan, a practicing Pediatric Nephrologist, and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Driscoll Children’s Hospital (Texas A&M affiliate). He has faculty appointments as a Clinical Professor at Texas A&M University School of Medicine and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine. He teaches medical students that come to Driscoll for their Pediatric experience from the University of North Texas School of Medicine, Incarnate Word School of Medicine, the University of Texas Medical Branch, Texas A&M University, and UTRGV. He is also a member of the Medical Education Department where he teaches residents and faculty how to teach as well as how to care for children with a myriad of kidney problems. Originally from Nebraska, he trained in Pediatrics in San Antonio at USAF Medical Center, Lackland AFB, and did his Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota where his mentor was one of the founders of the discipline of Pediatric Nephrology (Dr. Robert Vernier).
Other military positions included Combat Casualty Care Course and Management Course, USAF, Fort Sam Houston (field operations and casualty care in a combat environment); Aerospace Medicine Primary Course, School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooke Air Force Base; Pediatrician, Pediatric Nephrologist, Director of Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (Malcolm Grow USAF Medical Center); Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. Major Military Awards: Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Commendable Service Medal, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal; U.S. Air Force Flight Surgeon.
This award says it all: In September 2022, Fred received the Mary Greene-Noble Special Achievement Award for his outstanding leadership and service on the Texas Pediatric Society and as a member of the TPS Committees on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured, Medical Education, and Children with Disabilities. TPS quote: “His dedication to the most vulnerable children is unprecedented.”
Fred will volunteer at CAMP during an upcoming weekend retreat during the school year where you can not only interview him easily but also speak with campers who are very eloquent. Camper parents will be happy to be interviewed about the importance of CAMP for their kids’ self-esteem and their own sanity.
We also have volunteers and staff who cannot be contained when they talk about how CAMP has positively and deeply changed their personal and work lives.
Registration is now open on the CAMP website for campers as well as for volunteers. Visit http://www.campcamp.org for more information or to contact the CAMP team at campmail@campcamp.org
with questions.
“CAMP’s programs directly affect the health of individuals we serve through outdoor recreation, social interactions, and peer support – all which are so critical to their growth and development,” says Susan Osborne, CEO of CAMP since 2012 (and Director of Operations eight years before that). “They often have feelings of being ostracized by their peers, and the pandemic has greatly multiplied that isolation for them and their caregivers. Without CAMP’s year-round programs, some families never get a day off from being fulltime caretakers. It’s important to note that no one is excluded from attending CAMP based on ability to pay.”