New Ambulance Gifted to Bell's From Tribe, Casino

Healdsburg's the primary emergency responder in northern Sonoma County, on Thursday received a $80,000, state-of-the-art ambulance from and River Rock Casino.

"This is exactly what we needed to be able to serve our community better," said Pamela Bell Simmons, Bell's president and co-owner along with her brother Wayne Bell. "This is absolutely amazing."

Harvey Hopkins, the Dry Creek tribe's board chair, said the gift was to repay Bell's for "excellent service to the Tribe and to the entire community for more than five decades," he said.

"It is our privilege to give back in a way that benefits healthcare delivery in the most critical moments," he said. "Everyone knows someone who has used Bell's Ambulance."

After a series of speeches by area healthcare leaders and government officials, David Fendrick, head of River Rock Casino, handed the keys to the ambulance to Simmons before about 50 people gathered for ceremonies outside the emergency room entrance to

"I understand what it takes to roll up to an accident scene or someone with an acute illness and to coolly assess what needs to be done --and to bring people home," said Fendrick, a former Sonoma County Fire Department captain.

Simmons said the Sprinter ambulance, manfactured by Leader Industries in Los Angeles and custom-equipped according to Bell's specifications, had numerous custom features.

Those include "an unparalleled stability system which benefits the patient in the critical first minutes of response, it can handle multiple patients at once for when we respond to a traffic accident, it has brighter lights for driver safety, special hygiene features and a Mercedes diesel engine, which gets better mileage," she said.

Simmons said the new ambulance was a far cry from the old Chevy panel truck her parents used to start the business in 1956.

"When my parents, Lea and Inez Bell, first started Bell's Ambulance on Aug. 28, 1956, we had 52 calls in the first four months," she said. "Last year, we had 2,784 calls from 911 dispatch alone."

According to Simmons, the new addition will be the fifth ambulance in the Bell's fleet, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and covers the largest geographical emergency medical services zone in Sonoma County.

"My nickname for Bell's Ambulance is 'Green Lightning,'" said North Sonoma County "That's ever since my grandfather fell off a ladder while trying to prune a 400-year-old oak tree and broke his hip and leg and had internal bleeding.

"If it hadn't been for the quick action of Bell's Ambulance and Geyserville Fire Protection District, he would not have made it," McGuire said.

"Bell's is one of the last Mom and Pop emergency shops left," McGuire added, "and we owe them a debt of gratitude."

Other speakers and healthcare leaders at the event included Evan Rayner, CEO of the North Sonoma County Healthcare District, which owns and operates and healthcare facilities in Windsor and Cloverdale.

president of the district's board of directors, said that as more visitors come to Healdsburg and North Sonoma County, such cutting-edge emergency services become increasingly important.

"The dedication of the Bell family for 55 years is important, not only for Healdsburg, but also Windsor and the surrounding area," Hahn said.

"The combination of good ambulance and good hospital services makes the difference in an emergency -- especially for visitors," he said.

Pat Callahan, executive director of the said the Tribe and casino jointly are a major donor to the Healthcare Foundation's capital campaign for Healdsburg District Hospital. A Women's Diagnostic Center at the hospital is named for the Tribe, for example, she said.

The donors also helped finance upgrades in laboratory, imaging and information technology, Callahan said.