A heart that never stops giving: Meet local legend, Sally Hall
If you’ve worked between Palmerston North and Levin in the last two decades, you’ve most likely heard the name Sally Hall. She arrived from the Philippines 22 years ago, carrying with her only what she knew best: hard work, deep family values, and a love for caring for others.
She’s the colleague who can steady a busy shift, the clinician people seek out for her judgement, and the one who’ll turn up with homemade food when the pressure is on, because she understands that teams run better when people are looked after.
Cooking was Sally’s first language of care, and her team knows it. They can tell when she’s under pressure because she shows up with containers of home‑cooked food, ready to feed half the ward. But nursing became the language that shaped her life.
In 2002, Sally completed her six-week transition training and stepped into Ward 29 at Palmerston North Hospital. That first job became the foundation of everything that followed. She met her husband, moved to Levin, and joined STAR 4 (part of the elder health and rehabilitation pathway within MidCentral) in 2005.
She says, “This was the ward where I grew up professionally.”
Sally’s passion for teaching eventually led her to become the ward’s nurse educator, a role she held with pride. But it didn’t stop there. When her daughter turned 12, she began her postgraduate journey, determined to pursue a master’s degree and follow the nurse practitioner pathway.
With the support of Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ) scholarships, she completed her postgraduate studies and was accepted into the NP training programme in 2024. It was a year marked by both achievement and heartbreak, as she lost both her parents and her father-in-law.
“My NP journey was very challenging; I had to extend my NP training until mid-2025. I was fortunate to be accepted to the NP training program batch of 2024. I’m truly grateful for the guidance and support of the Nurse Practitioner (NPTP) Training Programme at Massey University”, Sally says.
Through all these chapters, one relationship remained constant: her connection with Mobile Health Group. To her, the mobile surgical unit was never just a workplace – it was a family.
“The surgical bus became a place of camaraderie, laughter, and learning. The annual conferences were a highlight, a chance to reconnect, grow, and feel part of something bigger. The support I received, the friendships I gained, they were so important to me.”
One memory stands out above the rest. “When my daughter was in kindy, I arranged for the children to visit the surgical bus. The kids were wide-eyed, fascinated by the idea that real surgeries could happen inside a bus. My daughter proudly announced that everyone wanted to be her friend that day.”
One little girl even told her she wanted to be just like her when she grew up. And today, that girl is studying nursing.
“The ripple effect of kindness is powerful!”
She adds, “Patients feel that same ripple. Many arrive anxious, unsure what to expect. But they leave smiling, impressed, and grateful. There’s a different vibe on the surgical bus. You need the skills to keep patients calm. It’s daunting for them, but they walk out happy.”
Receiving the Local Legend Award is, for her, deeply meaningful.
“I have worked so hard to get where I am. Being acknowledged like this means so much!”
Today, Sally steps into a new chapter as a nurse practitioner in Elderhealth (an inpatient ward that is part of the healthy ageing and rehabilitation service). A role she says that demands compassion, patience, and a holistic approach grounded in Te Whare Tapa Whā.
She admits, “It is mentally exhausting, but profoundly fulfilling. Learning feels different now: gentler, deeper, no longer tied to exams but to real-world wisdom.”
Congratulations, Sally Hall, on your Local Legend Award!
Know someone like Sally? Nominate your Local Legend here