When members of the U.S. military defend American freedom, they have medical experts like Randy Bell, MD, defending the lives of the injured. With a deep level of expertise and experience as a neurosurgeon, Bell now brings the same innovative techniques to benefit stroke, aneurysm and brain injury patients in South Dakota.
“Advancements in surgical technique and technology have historically come out of wartime,” said Bell, Avera neurosurgeon. During post 9-11 years, significant surgical advancements took place in treating traumatic brain injury – the same timeframe when Bell served as a military neurosurgeon.
Born near Baltimore, Md., Bell’s family moved all over the country following the death of his father at a young age. In school, he found he loved science and loved helping people, and became fascinated with the brain from his first day in medical school.
Military Experience Begins After 9/11
He received a health professions scholarship from the U.S. Navy to pay for medical school, and on Sept. 11, 2001, he was completing a neurosurgical rotation when the Towers were struck. After completing his neurosurgery residency and fellowships in endovascular and cerebrovascular surgery, his 20-year military career included service at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a year in Japan and a deployment to Afghanistan in 2013. There, he was the only neurosurgeon at the multinational medical unit at Kandahar Airfield. “I was on call for 197 days – every single moment of that time,” Bell said.
“We operated aggressively, with decompression procedures to prevent fatal intracranial pressure, and ended up with unprecedented survival for traumatic brain injury,” Bell said. “Somebody had to write about it and I was there.”
Bell was part of a team that undertook a six-year project to write an entire edition of Neurosurgery, the medical journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, about the care of penetrating brain injury. The issue, published in March 2026, was dedicated to Bell’s father, a police officer who died of a penetrating brain injury after a shooting in the line of duty when Bell was a 3-year-old.
After his retirement from the military as Chief of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Uniformed Services University and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bell had a short list of hospitals he wanted to consider for the next chapter of his career; Avera was not yet on it.
Landing in South Dakota
“I hadn’t thought about coming to South Dakota. I was looking to transition to a large academic hospital. But one of my best friends in residency, Jonathan Gilhooly, MD, recommended I come to South Dakota and take a look. As soon as I got off the plane, I was struck by how nice it was.”
In interviewing at Avera, Bell also resonated with Avera’s mission. “I’m a devout Catholic. To see those principles infused into every aspect of health care is amazing.”
Bell was the first dually trained vascular neurosurgeon at Avera, doing both open brain surgery and minimally invasive techniques with a catheter. When a second surgeon with similar military medical training joined Avera, together they could provide around-the-clock cerebrovascular coverage, comprising a team of two neurosurgeons and one neurologist.
Improving Stroke Care
Bell is part of a larger team that is intentionally working to improve brain care and specifically stroke care. In 2023, Avera gained certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV, and in 2026 gained recertification for three more years. In an overall effort started by Avera neurologist William Rossing, MD, having Bell’s skill set at Avera met one of the criteria.
“There are a number of ways we can improve care to patients who live in isolated, rural areas. Time is the only thing that initially matters in stroke care – getting the right diagnosis and the right care immediately,” Bell said.
Along with having dual trained vascular neurosurgeons, numerous other pieces came together thanks to an amazing and talented team.
“In stroke care, we are pushing the envelope in as many ways we can.” Bell serves as medical director of Avera McKennan’s Comprehensive Stroke Program. This includes participating in research to studies evaluating medications and procedures for enhanced stroke care. Still actively involved in military research, Bell is a subject matter expert for treating brain injuries and coma guidelines.
Avera is a participant in Mission: Lifeline Stroke, an initiative through the American Heart Association. Its purpose is to work toward a statewide approach to stroke care for patients in both rural and urban locations, ensuring best practices, reduced time to treatment and systemization for consistent care. Simultaneously, Avera is working toward its own system-wide, standardized approach to stroke care.
“It’s a multidisciplinary effort that starts in the pre-hospital setting and proceeds through the Emergency Department, ICU, our acute hospital unit and inpatient rehabilitation. The way we’re approaching it at Avera is so unique, with everyone buying in at every single level,” Bell said.
Bell also loves teaching as a professor of surgery for the South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine.
On the home front, Bell and his wife, Kameha, have four children ranging in age from 13 to 20. They also care for foster children. “There’s such a need in South Dakota,” Bell said. A PhD level molecular biologist, his wife’s commitment and support allow him to have a strong commitment in the clinic and OR.
Ready for Critical Moments
In his practice, Bell sees patients with brain, blood vessel or vascular disease; brain tumors; and numerous brain pathologies. The team is always expanding capabilities, and recently began performing vagal nerve stimulation as a means of improving stroke patients’ outcomes in rehabilitation.
“There are so many stroke patients we’ve seen improve right on the table. They are paralyzed, they can’t speak, we intervene, and they wake up. It’s an amazing moment for the team that never gets old,” Bell said. He remembers a coma patient who was not expected to live but recovered and walked out of the hospital.
“There are times when patients have injury and damage to the point where it just takes someone to say ‘yes, I will help,’” and to have the skills and training to be able to offer lifesaving, brain-saving help in these moments.
Learn more about stroke and aneurysm care at Avera.
