From humble beginnings to respected industry leader, CAMP’s story reveals how patient-centered values and quiet leadership built a medical physics practice that stands apart. Founder Jerry White shares the journey.
How CAMP Was Born: Building Something Better
When Jerry White arrived in Colorado Springs in 1978, he joined a small medical physics group providing services to hospitals across southern Colorado. Over the next decade, he built strong relationships with local healthcare providers, developing a reputation for clinical excellence and dependable support.
By the late 1980s, Jerry and two colleagues, Greg Gibbs and Michael Bailey, recognized an opportunity to better serve their hospitals by establishing a locally-focused, physician-aligned medical physics practice.
“Our goal was just to provide clinical medical physics services for hospitals,” Jerry says. “The corporation was just a way to allow us to do that. We didn’t have ambitions to make a lot of money.”
With that mission in mind, the three founded Colorado Associates of Medical Physics (CAMP). They intended to keep the operation small and personal.
“We actually pledged that we would never hire anybody other than just the three of us,” Jerry recalls with a smile. “That didn’t work out.”
What started as a practical solution to meet the immediate needs of their hospital partners quickly grew into something much larger. CAMP’s commitment to clinical quality and strong relationships created a natural momentum that would define its future.
Growth Through Personal Connection, Not Ambition
Though CAMP started with just three founders and no plans for expansion, their reputation for high-quality, patient-centered service soon brought new opportunities.
About a year after founding CAMP, Mike Bailey received a call from Porter Hospital in Denver, where he had previously worked. The hospital was in urgent need of physics support, and Mike felt a strong obligation to help. To meet this need, CAMP made its first hire beyond the original partners.
“That was our first employee who wasn’t an owner,” Jerry recalls. “And then it just kind of grew from there, got bigger and bigger and bigger.”
Despite this growth, CAMP remained a lean operation. Rather than building a large administrative staff, they brought in part-time support when needed. A bookkeeper was hired on contract, and later, they added an assistant to help with scheduling, handling phone calls, and managing bank deposits.
One pivotal moment in CAMP’s early growth came when Dan Marvel, an imaging physicist within the group, began facing physical limitations due to Parkinson’s disease. To support him, CAMP brought on his wife, a former x-ray technologist, as his assistant. She quickly recognized that the group’s informal scheduling methods needed improvement.
“You guys are way too unorganized,” Jerry remembers her telling them, and soon after, she was officially hired to take over scheduling duties. Her efforts streamlined operations and brought much-needed structure to a rapidly growing team.
Jerry emphasizes that CAMP’s approach to recruiting remained highly personal. Rather than posting public job listings, they relied on trusted recommendations.
“We would call people we knew who ran graduate programs and say, ‘Who do you have that’s really good this year, graduated last year, or the year before, and might be looking for a change?’” he explains. “And so we made this personal connection with mentors of medical physicists around the country.”
“We made this personal connection with mentors of medical physicists around the country. That’s how we kept finding the right people.”
This network-based hiring approach became a hallmark of CAMP’s culture, ensuring the group consistently brought in talented physicists who shared their patient-first philosophy.
“They knew if somebody came out here, they’d have a good job, and it’d be challenging. And so we were able to recruit a lot of really good people consistently.”
The CAMP Culture: What Has Endured Over 30+ Years
As CAMP grew beyond its founders, Jerry White remained focused on preserving the values that had defined the group from the start: high-quality clinical service, trusted partnerships, and a patient-first philosophy.
Today, when Jerry looks at CAMP’s evolution, he’s proud of how the team has adapted while staying true to its core mission.
“I think it’s great. I mean, I’m very pleased with the way the new people, the young people have organized it, have managed to continue to recruit really high quality,” he says. “They really have enhanced organizational skills and are able to leverage those skills to make the group much more highly functional.”
One of the biggest shifts has been the move toward specialization. In CAMP’s early days, the original team of three handled everything from radiation oncology physics to diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine.
“That sort of generalist approach is unheard of now, and it’s also not very viable,” Jerry explains. “They’ve really done a good job with encouraging people to have a specialty, but still have a generalist grounding. I think that’s been a big plus.”
Yet through all this growth and change, the most important part of CAMP’s identity has remained intact.
“The philosophy that patients come first [has remained]. Our job is to do the best for patients through the clinics and hospitals that serve them. I think that’s the thing I’m the most proud of.”
Jerry contrasts CAMP’s approach with larger corporate entities in the field.
“I see other medical physics groups that are essentially corporate entities that maximize efficiency, profit, and income. And CAMP is not like that. CAMP maximizes patient service. And I think that’s their strength.”
Jerry believes this core philosophy continues to set CAMP apart.
“CAMP maximizes patient service. That’s their strength. That’s why they’ll fill a niche others don’t even want to fit.”
Proud Moments: Technology and Trust
For Jerry White, CAMP’s growth wasn’t driven by flashy marketing or aggressive expansion tactics. Instead, it was their quiet reputation for reliability and technical excellence that opened doors.
“We developed relationships with some of the vendors, [and] gained a reputation as being—this sounds a bit immodest, but I’ll say it—of highly capable, reliable, thoughtful medical physicists,” he shares.
That reputation led to unique opportunities that were unusual for a community-based practice. Jerry recalls projects where CAMP’s expertise positioned them at the forefront of technology adoption.
At St. Mary Corwin Hospital, one of CAMP’s primary sites, the team was preparing to replace a linear accelerator. In their specifications for the new machine, they included an ambitious request.
“We said, we want a machine that will deliver 600 rads per minute. And we just thought, let’s put it in there and see what they say.”
The response from Varian, a leading manufacturer of linear accelerators, was unexpected. They asked CAMP to sign a non-disclosure agreement and began discussions.
It turned out Varian had a machine in development that met CAMP’s specifications. As a result, the very first unit of its kind was installed at St. Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado.
“They trusted us enough to put the first one in our clinic. The first machine of its kind in the world was installed at a community hospital in Pueblo, Colorado. ”
Similar stories followed. CAMP became early adopters of cone beam CT technology, to the point where installation manuals didn’t yet exist.
“We were so early that when ours was installed, they sent out a team of three installers to put it in. And then there were two other guys. And the two other guys were writing the installation manual because it hadn’t been done before.”
These milestones weren’t about prestige for Jerry and his team. They were about bringing advanced care to community hospitals and ensuring patients received the best possible treatment.
“I think that was very helpful, encouraging those of us who worked for CAMP—me and my partners and our colleagues—to view ourselves as valued and sort of cutting edge.”
This commitment to innovation in patient care continues today, with CAMP physicists regularly publishing and contributing to the profession in ways not always typical of private practice groups.
Looking Ahead: Quality Over Growth
For Jerry White, the future of CAMP isn’t defined by aggressive expansion or chasing numbers. Instead, it’s about staying true to the values that built the organization in the first place.
“I think CAMP is going to continue to exist, continue to flourish.”
Rather than focusing on size, Jerry emphasizes the importance of deepening expertise and maintaining a fulfilling professional environment.
“What I anticipate is that they will continue to increase the depth of the practice. They now have a residency program. They may add a second one. Those are really important contributors to the profession.”
For Jerry, the satisfaction of building a high-quality, patient-centered practice has always been the real reward.
“I think CAMP, in addition to increasing in numbers, they are increasing in the depth of the quality of the practice, which gives additional experience and professional satisfaction to the people who are in the group. It’s not about the money. It’s about professional satisfaction.”
Even in retirement, Jerry’s connection to CAMP is clear. Though he humbly refers to himself as “just an observer,” his influence is woven into the organization’s foundation.
That mindset—prioritizing people, quality, and purpose—continues to define CAMP’s culture today.
The Legacy Continues
While medical physics evolves, CAMP’s commitment to patient-first care, professional excellence, and thoughtful growth remains steadfast. Jerry White’s leadership has created a foundation of integrity and quiet innovation that continues to guide CAMP’s future.
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