Elias Cox has served as an EMT at Tri-State Regional Ambulance since 2014. During his time as an EMT, Elias was able to compete a bachelor’s degree in teaching.

In addition to working full-time, Elias donates his time as a volunteer EMS provider and is a full-time Paramedic student. Elias always shows up to work with a smile on his face and a can-do attitude. Elias’s coworkers thoroughly enjoy working with him and look forward to him becoming a Paramedic.

Timothy Couillard joined Bell Ambulance as a Critical Care Paramedic in November of 2010. Since joining the team, Tim has dedicated himself to sharing knowledge with less experienced mobile healthcare providers.

Tim excels in all facets of EMS but has a special passion for teaching. It didn’t take long for Bell to recognize this talent, and he was soon promoted to the rank of Field Training Officer, a role he quickly embraced. In addition to mentoring new EMTs and Paramedics, Tim teaches CPR, ACLS, and PALS to most of the Bell Ambulance staff. In 2016, Tim’s capable leadership earned him a promotion to Supervisor. Never complacent, Tim also became an EMD-certified dispatcher in 2017.

When not serving at Bell, Tim enjoys family time with his wife, Toni; his three daughters, Sierra, Julie and Lily; and his two dogs, Otto and Ranger. Tim is also an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hunting, fishing, and time on his 4-wheeler.

In addition to receiving numerous Service Awards over the years, Tim was honored with the 2018 Bell Ambulance Employee of the Year Award. Now, we are proud and excited to celebrate Tim as a 2019 Star of Life.

After retiring from his first career as the Chief of Social Work and Chaplain Service at a VA Hospital, Bob Kelter didn’t move down South to enjoy the warm weather. Instead, he decided to go back to school to get the necessary training to become a Paramedic. Bob remains active in a number of areas in the community where he lives, including volunteering at his local EMS agency and Fire Department. He also works part-time as a Paramedic at Baraboo District EMS, and as a clinician for the Good Neighbor Clinic in Prairie du Sac and with the Columbia/Sauk Counties Critical Incident Stress Management team.

Bob arrives at each shift with a smile on his face, ready to positively impact the patients that he treats. He is well-liked and respected by his co-workers, and he has excellent patient care skills. Bob has also taken a special interest in the Community EMS / Paramedic program that was recently approved by the State of Wisconsin. He has arranged and attended a number of meetings to garner support of the program within the community,  and has been proactive in advocating for the implementation of this new program.

For these reasons, Baraboo District Ambulance is proud to call Bob Kelter a Star of Life.

Dave is being honored for his devotion to EMS and his community, day in and day out. His peers and colleagues nominated him, saying out that his dedication has made an incredible difference in all the lives he has touched and that his humanitarian values reach far beyond what is professionally expected.

He has worked with Paratech Ambulance for almost 25 years and has been involved with EMS since 1972.  Dave’s worn many different hats during this time: He’s served as an EMT, CPR instructor, Ambulance Operations manager, dispatcher, and finally as the supervisor in our Communications Center. 

Dave’s desire to help others does not stop with EMS, though. He and his wife Ginny have opened their home and their hearts to 19 foster children over the past 14 years, some of those children with significant special needs.

In Dave’s ongoing quest to find a way to help other foster children, he has organized a group to promote and support those involved in foster care. He loves being a foster father and was delighted to become an adoptive parent.

Dave enjoys hiking with his family and sports. He is deeply involved with his church and leads a group for people who want to become involved in foster care.

We want to honor Dave for making an incredible difference in all our lives.

Elisabeth “Lis” Handgraaf earned her degree in athletic training then worked as a trainer for local schools. But while Lis enjoyed the work, she always felt she could be doing more. 

Lis decided to join the fire department, then she breezed through EMT school and got her Paramedic license at Lakeshore Technical College. 

Before long, she was promoted to lieutenant on the fire department, and she began working in EMS full-time. Lis was promoted again on the fire department, this time to captain, and shortly after that to EMS director.  

In 2016 Lis joined Bell Ambulance and earned her Critical Care through UMBC. She now routinely does Critical Care ground transfers and also works in the 911 system in Southeast Wisconsin.

She was promoted to Field Training Officer quickly, and has taken on numerous projects, including protocol rewrites, oversight of multiple patient simulation trainings, and development of a new driver training course.

In 2017 Lis was voted the Bell Ambulance Employee of the Year by her peers. 

Lis never shies away from the opportunity to teach and often falls back on her years of athletic training to explain cases of trauma, skeletal-muscular injuries, and head and spinal injuries. 

Lis and her husband Richard live in Fox Point, Wisconsin, and are the proud parents of Dottie, their rascally blue-tick coonhound.

David Mikec came to Bell Ambulance in 2014 as a seasoned Critical Care Paramedic. Dave immediately gained respect from his coworkers and it only took him a year to win his first Employee of the Year award in 2015.  He won Employee of the Year again in 2019. Since that time, Dave has worked his way through the ranks and is now a Supervisor with the company and has aspirations of management in the future. Dave is well known for bringing his calm, level-headed demeanor into any stressful situation. 

During the Pandemic, Dave was a resource for PPE, hygiene and cleaning questions and concerns. He was a shoulder to lean on during the stressful times all the caregivers experienced over the last couple of years. Dave also worked at Fort McCoy as part of Operations Allies Welcome providing treatment and transport to our Afghan refugees. Dave is a jack of all trades. He tends to take people under his wing to help develop them to their fullest potential, and he also takes the time to work with the EMT-Basics to educate them, and help push them toward a career as a Paramedic.  

Stephen Colwell has worked for Bell Ambulance for the last ten years as an EMT- Basic. Stephen began his career with Bell providing care as an EMT for southeastern Wisconsin, primarily in the City of Milwaukee. For the last few years, Stephen
has worked as an EMT Crew Chief with Bell Ambulance in collaboration with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Critical Care Transport Team to provide care and transportation to various hospitals throughout Wisconsin.

Bell Ambulance prides itself in giving excellent patient care and instilling in our employees our four operating priorities of Competency, Courtesy, Safety and Efficiency. From day one, Stephen has excelled in making sure our clients receive the best possible patient care and overall experience. This is evident in the numerous service awards he has received.

Stephen possesses the ability to positively interact with anyone. Whether it is co-worker or patient, Stephen makes them feel welcome and lets them know that they are important to him. Everyone that crosses paths with Stephen appreciates meeting and getting to know him.

Stephen served in the United States Army from 2002–2010 where he progressed to the rank of Sergeant. From 2004–2005 Stephen was deployed to Afghanistan. During his deployment, Stephen was the sole medic at the scene of a Humvee accident where he was responsible for triaging and caring for multiple soldiers until additional help arrived. This earned Stephen the Army Commendation Medal, an honor bestowed for heroism and meritorious service.

It is for the reasons above, coupled with Stephen’s outstanding work ethic and his efforts to make his workplace the best possible, that he is deserving of the Stars of Life award in 2016. We are proud to say that Stephen is an employee of Bell Ambulance.

2016 PAAW Star of Life

The Professional Ambulance Association of Wisconsin (PAAW) selected Chief Deonne Eske of Ashippun Fire Department for the state’s 2016 nomination as an American Ambulance Association Star of Life. She shows exemplary commitment to supporting her local EMS and community members, as well as to working collaboratively with four transporting ambulance services in her region.

Over the past thirty-two years, Chief Eske has progressed from volunteer EMT/ firefighter to lieutenant, captain, and now chief of the department. In 2014, she attended 100% of all fire and EMS meetings and over 90% of fire and rescue calls as a volunteer.

Ashippun has an elderly housing complex with 12 units. During a power outage, Chief Eske took it upon herself to check on the residents. She arranged an oxygen tank for a patient dependent on an oxygen concentrator, then returned every four hours round-the-clock to change the tank and ensure the residents’ wellbeing. She bought them all dinner at her own expense.

In addition, Chief Eske presents an annual fire safety program to the elderly, including how to call 911 and how to prepare for an ambulance’s arrival. Chief Eske follows up on patients who were recently transported by ambulance and goes above and beyond, even cleaning and changing bed sheets before they come back home.

The duties and responsibilities performed by Chief Eske contribute to the quality of life for citizens of and visitors to Wisconsin, through the delivery of high-quality emergency medical care and treatment of the sick or injured.

The Professional Ambulance Association of Wisconsin is proud to present Fire Chief Deonne Eske for this high honor and recognition as an American Ambulance Association Star of Life.