It was an unusual sight on Matheson Street at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church one morning last week—Father Rafael Karekatt was dressed in his ceremonial finery, offering prayers and shaking holy water inside and all around a brand new Mercedes Sprinter ambulance, blessing it for its coming life-support missions.
The vehicle is the newest of a fleet of five that Bell’s Ambulance Service maintains in Healdsburg and Windsor, where they have provided emergency support since 1956. Founded by the husband and wife team of Lea and Inez Bell, the company has been a pillar of community health for 67 years. Inez Bell was the ambulance driver, one of only two women doing the job in the state.
Current owner is their daughter, Pamela Bell Simmons. She and her brother, Wayne Bell, ran the company together for over 40 years; he passed away in October last year. Now 68, Pamela still has hopes that it will continue to be a family business. “There’s been some interest,” she said ambiguously.
The blessing of ambulances is not new to Bell’s; they have never put a new vehicle into service in their decades of operation without it. “It’s a 66-year tradition to have our ambulances blessed before they go in service, after they pass CHP inspection and Coastal Valleys EMS approval,” said Simmons.
The latter agency administers certification and accreditation of prehospital care personnel for Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
Of the blessing, Simmons said, “Normally, it was a private thing, just my brother and I and the priest. And before that, my folks, because they started the tradition.”
This time, the on-duty crew of Bell’s Ambulance was there, and the operations manager, and a handful of others, with their two similar green and white ambulances parked alongside the new one. The new ambulance will be stationed at the Windsor Bell’s location.
“I’m used to being there with my brother, and since he’s not here, maybe I just need to do something different this year,” Simmons said. The two worked together for 42 years, and she has hopes Bell’s will continue to be a family business.
“I work with really good people,” said Simmons, clearly heartened by the warm community that joined her for the blessing of the ambulance.
Ambulance companies are permitted for specific EOA, or exclusive operating areas. Bell’s EOA radiates from around their two stations, in Healdsburg and Windsor, extending north to just below Asti, east to the county line and west to the Las Lomas Grade, and south to Shiloh.
“It’s the largest EMS (emergency medical service) response zone in Sonoma County, but not necessarily the most populated,” noted Simmons. They respond to about 4,000 911 calls a year, she said.
The current controversy between Sonoma County Fire District and American Medical Response (AMR), known locally as Sonoma Life Support, does not affect Bell’s operations. The two are competing for a different EOA.
