Erin and Adam Simms

When we moved to Napa, we found plenty of reasons to love this area, but having a world-class hospital nearby wasn’t one of them. We had our son, Levi, at the Queen – still, the hospital wasn’t really on our radar philanthropically.

In the spring of 2015, our friend Eric Truelsen was visiting for the weekend. We heard a commotion and found him pinned under a golf cart. His condition was so serious that we immediately called for an ambulance. Suddenly, you ask yourself: “Hey, do we have a trauma center?”

The ER staff was excellent with the procedural stuff, but what really impressed us was their level of compassion. For instance, they waited until we could be there before reviving Eric from his induced coma, so he’d see some familiar faces. He didn’t have a medical directive, so they helped us with that.

Now we know: To have this kind of a resource in our community is a very big deal. In 2016, Mercedes Benz of Fairfield – of which Adam is a partner – was the Platinum Sponsor for the Generous Heart event, which raised significant funds for upgraded Emergency Services at the Queen.