Dr. Robert Wall can sum up his tenure at Memorial Health Care Systems in one word.
“Gratitude,” he said. “I have a lot of thankfulness and gratitude to the Seward community for being such a healthy, thriving place to live, work and raise our children.”
After 20 years of service with MHCS and 40 years in the medical field, Wall is set to retire. Wall said that while he won’t work with patients anymore, he will continue to support the community that has embraced him since his first day practicing in Seward.
“It’s unique in this community in that when the doctors live in the community, you’re part of the community,” he said. “You’re not anonymous.”
Wall and his family have lived in the Seward area since 1997 but Wall first began practicing at MHCS in 2001. Prior to that, he worked in the emergency room at Bryan West Campus in Lincoln.
He looks back on his arrival at MHCS and remembers his ambitions to live up to the legacy of some of the well-respected doctors he served alongside in his early years. Dr. Carr, Dr. Pitsch, Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Vahhe all set examples he knew he wanted to emulate.
“I came here trying to humbly live up to their legacy,” he said.
Under Wall, the emergency room at MHCS underwent significant changes. He and specialty areas supervisor Bonnie Hentzen helped design and grow the emergency department from one room to a full unit. He said it now contains three trauma bays, a decontamination room, a psychiatric triage room, two rooms built for COVID-19 and other infectious disease treatment and more features.
He said the evolution of the ER has been humbling to see in real time, and he credited the staff and hospital administration for their desire to bring the improvements to fruition.
“I really have enjoyed seeing the advances in the emergency department itself but also realizing that emergency care is a specialty in itself,” Wall said. “The quality has really improved over the last two decades.”
Wall added that the efforts of CEO Roger Reamer and hospital administration to constantly improve the hospital and clinic in all aspects added to his sense of pride as an MHCS employee.
“They’ve improved this plant very nicely and have provided a nice place to work,” he said.
As an ER doctor and medical director for area ambulance services, Wall said he’s worked with patients who are experiencing the worst days of their lives. What he’s been able to see through that is the quality and passion of emergency responders in the area who often helped those patients before they reached the hospital.
“It’s been an honor to work alongside these selfless, courageous citizens,” he said.
Once emergency patients arrived at the hospital, Wall said he knew he always had reliable support in his fellow physicians.
“They’ve made good mates in the foxhole,” he said.
And to make some of the hardest days easier was nurse Angie Sissel, who has served alongside Wall since his arrival.
“She has been a constant as an assistant nurse for the past 20 years,” Wall said. “I’ve appreciated her and her help with pronouncing all those Czech names.”
Of course, Wall said, his tenure would not have been what it is without the patients. Wall said he has seen the heart of the community personified in the patients he treated and their attitudes towards him in sometimes unthinkable circumstances showed how special a place Seward is.
“I have witnessed such courage, resilience and even humor during times of tribulation,” he said. “I am so impressed with them and they’ve inspired me.”
