Republican Women invite the public to hear Michelle Wall, hospital operating room manager, on the Las Vegas mass shooting

Image courtesy Pixabay, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Republican Women, in their first luncheon of 2018 Thursday, will hear from St. George native Michelle Wall, who experienced the Oct. 1 Las Vegas mass shooting firsthand … from the operating room of Nevada’s largest hospital.

On Oct. 1, Stephen Craig Paddock, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas on a crowd of people attending the outdoor “Route 91 Harvest Festival.” The incident left 59 people dead, including Paddock, and nearly 550 others injured and has been cited as the deadliest mass shooting by an individual in the United States.

Wall is the operating room manager for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, the largest operating room facility in the largest hospital in Nevada. The night of Oct. 1 she was on duty as the victims came rolling in to the hospital.

During Thursday’s luncheon, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Best Western Abbey Inn, 1129 S. Bluff St., St. George, Wall will tell about her experiences that tragic night. The public is invited, RSVPs are required, please see event details below.

About Michelle Wall

Washington County Republican Women offered a brief biographical sketch on Wall:

She was born and raised in St George, graduating from Snow Canyon High School in 2001 and attending then Dixie State College. Wall graduated with a certificate in surgical technology and worked at St George Surgical Center as a surgical tech in the operating room. She was also the materials management coordinator for the center.

​In 2008 Wall moved to Salt Lake City to work in the operating room at St. Mark’s Hospital for six years. She was one of the first at the hospital to train on the da Vinci System for robotic surgery and later became the robotic coordinator for St. Mark’s Hospital. The Salt Lake Tribune published a feature on Wall with Dr. John Griffin, as the first in Utah to complete colorectal surgery with the da Vinci System robot.

While living in Salt Lake City, Wall attended nursing school at Ameritech College of Healthcare. She graduated in 2012 with an associate degree in nursing and continued to work at St. Mark’s as an operating room nurse until September 2013 when she took her nursing degree to a whole new level by becoming a traveling operating room nurse. During the next three years, Wall lived and worked in six states – Idaho, Wisconsin, Arizona, Texas, Maryland and Maine – as well as in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

​As a traveling nurse, Wall grew both personally and professionally and completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing as well. Each of her travel assignments prepared her for future assignments and, ultimately, attending to victims of the Las Vegas shooting on the night of Oct. 1, 2017.

​In June 2016, Wall accepted a management position at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada’s largest operating room. She recalls being both scared and overwhelmed and often finding herself wondering if she had what it took to be successful in running such a large OR. Three months later, Wall was hired to work at Sunrise Hospital permanently and currently manages its operating room.

Event details

  • What: Washington County Republican Women Luncheon with featured speaker Michelle Wall, Las Vegas’ Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center operating room manager.
  • When: Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, 11:30 a.m.
  • Where:Best Western Abbey Inn, 1129 S. Bluff St., St. George
  • Details: RSVP required to telephone 435-656-4361 or email to [email protected]. Cost is $15 per person and includes lunch.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

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