Chad Alan Epps, M.D.

Chad Alan Epps, MD, FSSH, beloved husband and father, passed away unexpectedly in Memphis, TN on Friday, December 18, 2020 at the age of 48. Funeral services for Chad will be held graveside at Westover Memorial Park in Augusta, GA on Wednesday, December 23rd at 11 AM.

A 1991 graduate of Harlem High School, Chad went on to Augusta State where he received his bachelor’s degree in biology. The desire to study medicine took him to the Medical College of Georgia from where he received his M.D. in 2000. While in internship at Shands in Florida Chad met Deborah, the love of his life. Residency took Chad and his new bride to New York City where he trained in anesthesiology and patient simulation at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. It was in New York that Chad began what he would tell you was his favorite job, being a father, when they welcomed Evelyn Lou (15) to the family.

After he completed his training at Mt. Sinai, Chad began his lifelong passion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham working with various medical disciplines through medical simulation to educate future health care providers and improve patient safety. While in Birmingham, his role as Dad also grew with the birth of their second daughter, Ellis Ann (12).

In 2016, Chad was recruited to Memphis to be the Executive Director of Healthcare Simulation at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. His first task in his new role was to oversee the design and construction of the Health Science Center’s Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulations. His efforts resulted in a nationally and internationally recognized, cutting edge center that provides training for students in medicine, pharmacy, and all patient care disciplines at UTHSC.

Chad’s expertise and devotion to Simulation Medicine was recognized when he was elected President of the Society of Simulation in Healthcare. During his presidency and after, he travelled the world sharing his knowledge, expertise, and infectious enthusiasm for training with the state-of-the-art technology that patient simulation employs. Even more than his expertise, his enthusiasm and warmth for his colleagues has been a theme of the condolences received from all around the world.

When Chad wasn’t traveling the world with work, he was passionately grounded by a deep and overwhelming love of Deborah, Evelyn, Ellie and his large and close extended family. He loved nothing better than being the audio-visual tech for movie night sleepovers for his beloved girls and a house-full of their friends. Chad loved the Lord and his deep faith was his guiding light to live his life and, with Deborah, to raise his daughters to be the fine young women they are.

In addition to his wife, Deborah Dyess Epps and daughters, Evelyn Lou and Ellis Ann (Memphis, TN), survivors include his parents, Betty and Henry Middleton (Martinez, GA), Richard and Barbara Epps (Grovetown, GA), his mother-in-law, Barbara Dyess (Enterprise, AL), his sisters, Christi Epps (Augusta, GA) and Jessica Epps Johnson (Royce) (Reidsville, GA), brother, Brandon Carpenter (Crystal) (Grovetown, GA), and brother-in-law’s, David Garman (Tracey) (Mansfield, TX), Scott Dyess (Betsey) (Canton, GA), and Jody Dyess (Thomasville, AL) and many nieces and nephews.

In honor of the legacy Chad leaves behind, memorials may be directed to www.ssih.org/chad.