There’s a version of McCamey that still lives in photographs — a boomtown with 10,000 residents, three movie theaters, a hotel that hosted oil executives from New York, and streets so crowded on Saturday nights you couldn’t find parking. That was the 1920s, when McCamey was known as the “Oil Capital of the Permian Basin.”
Today’s McCamey is quieter. About 1,800 people live here, in a town that carries its history with pride. And like many small West Texas towns, its population skews older — with a large share of residents who’ve spent their whole lives here and want to spend their final years here too.
StarCare exists to make that possible. We’ve served West Texas since 1997, and McCamey has been part of our service area for years. Our nurses, therapists, aides, and caregivers travel from Odessa to McCamey on a regular schedule — the same team, the same standards, no matter the drive.
McCamey sits in Upton County, along the I-10 corridor between Odessa and Fort Stockton. It was here, in the 1920s, that the Permian Basin’s oil boom truly began — the discovery well that turned a ranch stop into a small city practically overnight. For a few decades, McCamey was one of the wealthiest towns per capita in Texas.
That era is gone, but the families who stayed didn’t leave. Many of them have been here for four or five generations. Their parents and grandparents built this town. Now those parents and grandparents are aging — and many want to age at home, in the houses and on the land their families have owned for a century.
StarCare helps them do that.
McCamey has something many small Texas towns don’t: its own hospital district. The McCamey County Hospital District operates a clinic and emergency services on Highway 190, providing primary care, urgent care, and stabilization for the local community.
For more advanced care, patients are transferred to Odessa Regional Medical Center, Medical Center Hospital, or facilities in Midland or San Angelo. When they come home, StarCare is ready — coordinating directly with those discharge teams so care begins the day they return.
What that looks like for McCamey families:
Nurses who make the drive from Odessa on a regular schedule
Supplies and equipment delivered with the visit — no extra trips
Coordination with McCamey Hospital District for follow-up
Direct discharge planning with Odessa, Midland, and San Angelo hospitals
No waiting on insurance authorization that assumes you live near a facility
Wound care, medication management, post-surgical monitoring, IV therapy, and chronic condition oversight by registered nurses. We coordinate with McCamey Hospital District and regional hospitals so care is ready the day your family member returns home.
Surgical incisions, diabetic ulcers, and pressure injuries treated by RNs with advanced wound training. For patients recovering from surgery in Odessa or Midland, frequent wound checks at home prevent the complications that send people back to the hospital.
Physical, occupational, and speech therapy delivered in the actual home. For patients recovering from a fall, a stroke, or joint replacement, therapy in familiar surroundings often produces better outcomes than clinic-based rehab — and eliminates the 60-mile round trip twice a week.
End-of-life care for patients and families who want to spend final months at home. Pain management, symptom control, and family support — coordinated with our hospice team in Odessa.
One-on-one skilled nursing for complex cases — ventilator, tracheostomy, and high-acuity patients who need a nurse present, not just visiting.
Relief for the spouse who hasn’t slept. Company for the parent who eats alone. A steady presence for a family whose adult children work in the oilfield and can’t always be there.
McCamey has a skilled nursing facility within the city — the McCamey Convalescent Center, which provides long-term care and rehabilitation for local residents. It serves an important role for patients who need round-the-clock institutional care, and it’s one of the few facilities left in this part of Upton County.
But for many McCamey families, home remains the better choice:
A lifelong resident who wants to stay on her own property
A widow whose children live in Odessa and Midland but who doesn’t want to move
A veteran who prefers the sound of his own house to a shared room
A family whose budget stretches further with part-time home care than a private facility room
Home isn’t always possible. But in McCamey, the option is real — and for many families, it’s what their loved one wants most.
For a town of 1,800, McCamey has always held onto what matters. The historic downtown still has buildings from the boom years. The community rallies around the school and the local churches. And neighbors still check on neighbors — the way small towns always have.
StarCare works alongside these community networks. The clinical care we bring doesn’t replace the community — it fills the gaps that community alone can’t address when someone needs skilled nursing or end-of-life support.
StarCare works with VA benefits, including Aid and Attendance, to help McCamey veterans cover the cost of in-home care. The George H.W. Bush VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic on East 42nd Street in Odessa serves the greater Permian Basin veteran community. We coordinate directly with VA case managers. If you’re a veteran or caring for one, call us.
