We are honored to tell the stories of our frontline heroes. These seven stories of resilience, service and hope show how that day changed their lives, deepened their commitment to service and strengthened their bond with our community. Their stories reveal where their journeys have taken them and the moments that continue to guide them today.
Michael Kennedy, Certified RN III, ICU
Serving as administrator on duty (AOD) on Aug. 3, Michael Kennedy remembers how quickly everything unfolded. Within 45 minutes, the emergency department was caring for 14 Level 1 trauma patients.
Years later, what stays with him is not the pace of the response, but the people.
“It was a beautiful thing to see everyone do exactly what they were trained to do for so long, and they just got to work. It was a beautiful thing to see other professionals who were trained for the worst things imaginable do really good things together,” he said.
One of the stories that continues to stay with him came afterward, when Trauma-Ortho Charge Nurse Raul Santiesteban told him about patients who had been watching the news unfold from their hospital rooms. They chose to leave, they said they wanted to give their rooms to the shooting victims.
“That’s a beautiful thing for a patient to be like, ‘No, I am going to get up and clean my room and let someone else have it.”
“That says something about El Paso, that says something about the community.”
For Michael, the experience ultimately led him to leave his administrative role and return to the bedside to be more hands-on with patients in UMC’s Intensive Care Unit.
“The halls were lined with people saying, ‘Tell me what you need. Tell me where to go. Tell me what you need me to do.’ That’s my biggest takeaway. I went back to the bedside because I never really lost that love for it. I had that love from the beginning.”
April Senclair, Certified RN III, ICU
April was attending a coworker’s baby shower when emergency alerts began appearing on her phone: mass casualty incident, multiple Level 1 traumas.
She called UMC Administrator on Duty Michael Kennedy to ask if she should come in. He told her to stay home and make sure her family was safe, but she headed to the hospital.
Walking through the ambulance bay and into UMC’s Emergency Department, she immediately sensed that this day would be unlike any other. As patients began arriving in the ICU, the tragedy became deeply personal.
“I realized that, day-to-day in my work, these were not just patients. This was my community that was affected,” she said.
The fear and heartbreak she felt came from knowing the people in those hospital rooms were more than patients. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and loved ones. They were members of her community. They were El Pasoans.
April recalled thinking to herself, “Everyone in this room means something to someone.” That realization has stayed with her over the last seven years. For April, Aug. 3 strengthened not only her role as a nurse, but also her understanding of what it means to care for a community. “This was my community,” she said. “It was a clear-cut reminder of why I chose this profession.”
Silvia Ogaz, Supervisor, Environmental Services
Silvia was walking through the hospital when she received the call. At first, she thought she had misunderstood.
Within moments, she began moving from floor to floor, calling members of her environmental services team and asking them to report to UMC’s Emergency Department. One call, in particular, still stands out.
“Juanito, bring towels, bring scrubs,” she remembers telling her coworker, Juan Torres.
Together, they moved quickly throughout the hospital, gathering supplies as patients continued to arrive.
Silvia witnessed an extraordinary response. Nurses and physicians rushed in from home, some still in pajamas and street clothes. Members of her own EVS team worked through their emotions, determined to do their part.
“We were in shock, but at the same time we were focused,” she said.
Seven years later, what remains within Silvia is the strength she saw in the people around her and the strength she discovered within herself. For Silvia, Aug. 3 reinforced something she has always believed: every role matters.
“Before, I thought I was a weak person, but that day, I saw myself and my coworkers being so, so strong.”
Juan Torres, Linen Associate, Laundry Service
Juan was working in Laundry Services when he received a call from Silvia Ogaz. Nurses and physicians were on their way in, and the emergency department needed scrubs, blankets, and towels.
“A lot of doctors came, and a lot of them were off that day and didn’t have scrubs on,” Juan said.
The supplies disappeared almost immediately. Within minutes, he was running back for more. Throughout the day, he made repeated trips delivering whatever was needed.
Seven years later, Juan still finds it difficult to think about Aug. 3. What he remembers most, however, is the effort of the many people working behind the scenes.
“It was a lot of work. A lot of people needed to mop and take linens to the floors. They were heroes,” he said.
Juan was deeply affected by the tragedy and shared that it took months before he felt comfortable going into a Walmart again. Like many throughout El Paso, he carried the impact of Aug. 3 long after that day had passed. Still, he continued coming in to work each day alongside his team, a reminder of the many ways people across our community continued showing up for one another in the days, months, and years that followed.
“I speak about my department, but heroes could be found throughout the hospital.”
Jaime Vasquez, Paramedic, Emergency Department
In 2019, Jaime worked as a paramedic for both the fire department and UMC. On Aug. 3, he was assigned to a firetruck when updates about an active shooter began coming across the radio.
He called Nancy McGrail, then director of UMC’s Emergency Department, to alert her of the situation.
Although he was not scheduled to work at UMC that day, Jaime felt compelled to go.
What he found when he arrived left a lasting impression. Every trauma bay was staffed and ready. Physicians, nurses, and technicians were already in place, prepared to care for the patients who were on their way.
“It was very encouraging to me,” Jaime said. “I thought, ‘These guys are ready for it.’ I dare you try and overwhelm us.”
The experience became a turning point in his life.
“I reverted back to my faith and realized I had not been doing what I was supposed to be doing, which is helping people,” he said.
Jaime found a renewed sense of purpose, reinforcing not only why he chose a career as a first responder, but where he felt he was meant to serve. That realization ultimately led him to join UMC full-time.
“I need to stay here; this is where I need to be.”
Nancy McGrail, Admin. Director, Service Excellence, Patient Experience
Nancy was serving as director of UMC’s Emergency Department on Aug. 3 when she received a phone call at home from paramedic Jaime Vasquez, who was working with the El Paso Fire Department that day.
“He called me at home. He said, ‘Hey boss lady, we’ve got a problem,’” Nancy recalled. “I asked if it was a drill, and he said, ‘No.’ It was the real thing.”
What followed would become one of the most challenging days of Nancy’s career.
“We got in there and did not give up,” Nancy said. “You can’t give up in those situations. You have to follow through.”
In the days that followed, she witnessed an outpouring of compassion that extended far beyond the walls of the hospital. “Every experience is worth something, good or bad,” she said.
“This experience brought the community together.”
Nancy said this year was the first since 2019 that she felt a sense of peace returning to the trauma bays. Today, Nancy works in UMC’s Patient Experience Department, where she continues to follow through day after day, putting patients above all else.
Though she was not born and raised in El Paso, the compassion and resilience she witnessed in the aftermath of Aug. 3 changed the way she saw the city. What she experienced that day, and in the days that followed, made El Paso feel like home.
“As a community, we were able to rise above this.”
Alejandra Carzoli, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
On Aug. 3, Alejandra Carzoli was working as a charge nurse in UMC’s Emergency Department. She recalls a man trying to open the doors of the ambulance bay that Saturday morning. He was an off-duty officer who had driven a patient from the shooting to the hospital.
The experience remained with her long after the immediate crisis had passed and ultimately solidified her decision to pursue a career in mental health, leading her to return to school just one year later.
“After Aug. 3, I realized there’s a lot of aftermath when people live through something so traumatic. That’s what made me make the final decision that I wanted to work with people who have PTSD or underlying mental health problems,” she said.
Today, Alejandra is a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
“When I see my patients and they have memories that hurt, I have empathy,” she said.
Her experience on Aug. 3 gave her a deeper understanding of how trauma can stay with people long after an event is over, affecting individuals, families, and entire communities.
“You start talking about it, and it just brings up feelings. Being a frontliner, it hurts. I can’t imagine what the family members who were there that day feel.”
