What Bell Ambulance does

Bell Ambulance, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned emergency medical services (EMS) provider founded in 1976 by Rick Zehetner and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company operates as Wisconsin's largest ambulance service, with a fleet of 104 custom-built ambulances, more than 750 employees and 14 stations across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties, answering over 140,000 calls annually. Service revenue is generated through transaction-fee-based emergency and non-emergency medical transports organized across four care tiers: Basic Life Support (BLS) with EMT-staffed units, Advanced Life Support-Paramedic (ALS) with two paramedics per unit, Critical Care Transport for ICU-level patients, and a dedicated pediatric Critical Care sub-fleet serving Children's Wisconsin.

The underlying technology stack is built on industry-standard, name-brand medical hardware rather than proprietary software platforms. Bell's Critical Care ambulances carry Stryker Power-PRO XT cots with Power Load systems, Zoll X Series monitor/defibrillators, Hamilton T1 transport ventilators, Sapphire Multi-Therapy infusion pumps and AeroClave hospital-grade disinfection systems. Back-office operations run on commodity SaaS — Traumasoft for Medicare Part B ambulance billing and coding, PatientCo for online patient payments, DocuSign for Medical Necessity Certification (PCS) forms, and ADP Workforce Now for HR and recruiting. The company holds the world's 269th Accredited Center of Excellence for its Emergency Medical Dispatch program and operates an in-house training pipeline that includes a foundation-funded Cadet Program, a Paramedic Scholarship and a Critical Care Paramedic course built on the University of Maryland–Baltimore County (UMBC) CCEMTP curriculum.

Bell Ambulance's go-to-market is anchored on two channel types: a long-standing contracted Certified Provider role in the City of Milwaukee 911 EMS System (held since 1978) and a portfolio of hospital-embedded and direct-pay relationships. Named enterprise relationships include Children's Wisconsin (flagship pediatric Critical Care with four custom ambulances), Ascension Wisconsin (co-located stations at All Saints Racine and Columbia St. Mary's Mequon, plus a shared Prehospital Medical Director) and the Milwaukee Fire Department. Direct-to-consumer demand is served via 24/7 dispatch numbers across Milwaukee, Southeast Wisconsin and statewide, and a niche Special Events channel using Liberty Bell golf-cart ambulances. The company is in active operational transition in 2025–2026, with Wayne Jurecki promoted to President & CEO, multiple director-level promotions, four new stations opened or announced, and a disclosed February 2025 data breach now under class-action investigation.

Name

Bell Ambulance

Legal name

Bell Ambulance, Inc.

Website

https://264bell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bell Ambulance is Wisconsin's largest private EMS provider, operating 104 custom ambulances and 750+ professionals across 14 stations in Southeastern Wisconsin. It delivers tiered BLS, ALS, and Critical Care transport services — including a flagship pediatric partnership with Children's Wisconsin — under contract with the City of Milwaukee 911 system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Medical Services / Ambulance Services

NAICS

Ambulance Services (62191)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Private EMS Providers (Contract/Interfacility) (HLAFANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Critical Care Transport (CCT) & Specialty Transport Teams (HLAFANAE), Hospital-Based EMS & Mobile Integrated Health (HLAFANAC), Ambulance Fleet, Equipment & Logistics Services (HLAFANAN), Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Operations & Dispatch (HLAJAGAC)

Keywords

• Emergency medical services
• Ambulance transportation
• Critical care transport
• Non-emergency medical transport
• EMS dispatch services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Emergency Ambulance Services: 911 emergency response services for the City of Milwaukee EMS System, providing immediate medical transport for emergency situations.
2. Critical Care Transport: Specialized transport services for critically ill or injured patients including those requiring ventilator management, arterial line monitoring, balloon pumps, ECMO devices, and high-risk obstetrics. Largest and busiest Critical Care service in Wisconsin.
3. Basic Life Support (BLS) Non-Emergency Transport: Scheduled and unscheduled transport services including hospital discharges, doctor's office visits, rehabilitation transfers, skilled nursing facility transports, and hospice transports.
4. Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedic Transport: Paramedic-level emergency and non-emergency transport services with two paramedics per unit for high-quality ALS-level care.
5. Special Events EMS Coverage: Medical standby services for special events in Southeast Wisconsin using Liberty Bell golf-cart ambulances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bell Ambulance is Wisconsin's largest private ambulance service providing 911 emergency response, inter-facility hospital transfers, and non-emergency medical transport across Southeast Wisconsin. The company delivers tiered care levels including Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support-Paramedic (ALS), and Critical Care Transport, with a specialized pediatric transport service operated in partnership with Children's Wisconsin.

Product overview

Bell Ambulance is Wisconsin's largest ambulance service provider operating as a unified emergency and non-emergency medical transport platform. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of services organized as tiered care levels: Basic Life Support (BLS) Transport with EMT-staffed units for routine emergency and non-emergency transports; Advanced Life Support-Paramedic (ALS) with dual-paramedic staffing for advanced interventions; Critical Care Transport for critically ill patients requiring ICU-level care; and Children's Wisconsin Critical Care Transport for specialized pediatric transports. Supporting these core transport services are Special Events EMS Coverage (Liberty Bells golf-cart ambulances), Medical Equipment Fleet (Stryker, Zoll, Hamilton, McGrath systems), Support Vehicles, and an extensive Station Network across 14 Southeast Wisconsin locations. The company also operates education programs including the Cadet Program, Paramedic Scholarship Program, and Critical Care Paramedic Training (CCEMTP) following UMBC curriculum. With a fleet of 104 ambulances and over 750 employees answering more than 140,000 calls annually, the service portfolio integrates operational tools for billing (Traumasoft, PatientCo), document signing (DocuSign), and workforce management (ADP).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basic Life Support (BLS) Transport Non-emergency and basic emergency medical transport staffed by EMTs for patients requiring routine medical attention and basic life support interventions.
• Advanced Life Support-Paramedic (ALS) Transport Advanced emergency medical transport staffed by two paramedics per unit, providing advanced clinical interventions for higher-acuity patients.
• Critical Care Transport Highest-tier inter-facility transport service for critically ill or injured patients, providing ICU-level care during transport between hospitals.
• Children's Wisconsin Critical Care Transport Specialized pediatric and neonatal critical care transport service operated in exclusive partnership with Children's Wisconsin Hospital, using custom-built ambulances configured for neonatal and pediatric patients.
• Special Events EMS Coverage On-site standby EMS coverage for special events, sports venues, festivals, and community gatherings, providing dedicated ambulances and trained medical personnel.
• Emergency Medical Dispatch Services 24/7 emergency medical dispatch and communications services operated from an ACE-accredited center, providing coordinated response routing for both 911 and inter-facility calls.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 140,000 calls answered per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Children's WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBell Ambulance is the Critical Care Ambulance provider for Children's Wisconsin Hospital. They operate four custom-built ambulances (two Chevrolet and two Ford) built to Children's specifications by Wheeled Coach/REV Group. This is a flagship partnership providing pediatric critical care transport services.
• Ascension Wisconsin (All Saints Hospital, Racine)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStation 10 located at Ascension All Saints Hospital Campus in Racine, providing hospital-based EMS services. Dr. Jason Staszko also serves as Prehospital Medical Director for Ascension Wisconsin.
• Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - OzaukeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStation 14 located at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Mequon, providing hospital-based EMS services in Ozaukee County.
• City of MilwaukeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBell Ambulance is a Certified Provider and contracted participant in the City of Milwaukee 911 EMS System since 1978. They work closely with the Milwaukee Fire Department to provide high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective EMS service.
• Lake Country Fire & RescuesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLake Country Fire & Rescue teaches in-house EMT classes for the Bell Ambulance Cadet Program. The program allows people interested in healthcare to enter the field with no experience, with the Bell Ambulance Foundation paying all costs.
• Wheeled Coach (REV Group)coreTechnology or IntegrationWheeled Coach, a division of REV Group, builds Bell Ambulance's fleet to custom specifications. They manufacture Type-III ambulances on Ford and Chevrolet chassis, as well as Type-II Transit ambulances.
• Milwaukee Fire DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose partnership providing high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective EMS service to the residents of Milwaukee. Bell participates in the City EMS System with Private Ambulance Participation since 1978.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Falck USA: U.S. arm of Falck, the Danish global ambulance and healthcare services group. Provides 911 response, interfacility, and event medical services with similar municipal-contract and hospital-partnership channels; comparable in operating model though larger and internationally owned.
• American Medical Response (AMR): The largest private ambulance operator in the United States, providing 911, interfacility, and critical care transport across nearly every state. Directly comparable to Bell in service mix (BLS, ALS, CCT) and customer base (municipal 911 systems, hospitals, health plans), but at a national scale and as part of a portfolio owned by KKR/Global Medical Response.

Emerging players

• Priority Ambulance: Private equity-backed, multi-state private ambulance platform providing 911, interfacility, and CCT services across the Southeast and Midwest. Useful comp for how a regional operator like Bell could scale through M&A into a multi-state platform.

Direct peers

• Acadian Ambulance Service: Privately held Louisiana-based ambulance and air medical operator offering 911, ALS, CCT, special event coverage, and EMS education across the Gulf South. Closest comparable in being a private, multi-modality, education-anchored EMS platform with municipal contracts and hospital partnerships.
• McCormick Ambulance (Royal Ambulance): California-based private ambulance operator with a similar mix of 911, BLS, ALS, and Critical Care services, plus an in-house training academy. Closely comparable as a private, multi-tier ambulance platform with workforce development as a differentiator.
• Life EMS Ambulance: Privately held, family-founded ambulance service in Michigan/Ohio with 911 response, ALS/CCT, and ambulance-based community health programs. Closely comparable in operating model — private, family-influenced, community-rooted, multi-tier service portfolio.

Regional players

• Gold Cross Ambulance: Regional private ambulance service operating in Wisconsin and Minnesota, providing 911, interfacility, and Critical Care transport. Direct regional competitor in Bell's home market with a similar community-owned/private nonprofit heritage and comparable service portfolio.
• Paratech Ambulance Service: Wisconsin-based private ambulance provider operating in the greater Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin market. Direct regional competitor to Bell with overlapping 911, ALS, and interfacility services, useful for share-of-market and rate benchmarking.
• MedStar Mobile Healthcare: Public-utility-model EMS provider in Fort Worth, Texas, offering 911 response, CCT, and mobile integrated health. Comparable to Bell in service scope and clinical quality emphasis, though structured as a governmental entity rather than private — a useful comp for understanding Bell's municipal-contract model.
• Kunkel Ambulance: Long-standing privately held ambulance service operating in upstate New York. Comparable as a family/privately held operator with deep municipal-contract roots and a multi-tier service mix, though in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bellambulance
• Facebookfacebook.com/bellambulance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bell-ambulance-inc.

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bell Ambulance