Susan Dahl reflects on her time at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital and the meaning behind her legacy gift

Susan Dahl

Susan Dahl designated the Mary Bridge Good Samaritan Children’s Therapy Unit as a beneficiary of her retirement plan. The process was easy and simple, Susan says.

Growing up, Susan Dahl’s mother and father volunteered a lot. They donated their time to many community organizations, instilling the values of generosity and compassion in Susan from a young age.

Susan decided to dedicate her career to working for nonprofit organizations. In 1979, she joined Good Samaritan Hospital as the director of volunteer services and later became the interim executive director for the Good Samaritan Foundation, while the hospital joined MultiCare Health System.

On working at Good Samaritan for over 30 years, “I think why I stayed so long and enjoyed it so much was working with people who wanted to be there,” Susan shares. “The volunteers, as well as the foundation board showed a real commitment.”

Her favorite part was “to see them and encourage them to grow from where they started to where they could become. When I arrived, there were 89 volunteers to many thousands (today across a MultiCare program or foundation Health System).”

To support Good Samaritan’s mission and serve as an example for her colleagues, board of directors and volunteers, Susan designated the Mary Bridge Good Samaritan Children’s Therapy Unit (CTU) as a beneficiary of her retirement plan.

“Since I started working at Good Sam, I’ve been really interested and invested in what the CTU has done for the broader community,” she says. “I ended up working in the CTU building for a number of years — that’s where the foundation was for a while — and oh my goodness, to really see those kids! It’s such a happy place.”

As for the beneficiary designation itself, Susan describes the process as simple and easy.

This type of giving “is something you can do even if you don’t have the resources currently,” she explains. “It’s really on your own terms on how much you want to do. I chose to give through my retirement plan, but you can do insurance or put it in your estate plan/will. It’s something that anyone can do.”

If you’re interested in making a beneficiary designation like Susan, you can do so in three steps:

  1. Request a change-of-beneficiary form from your policy administrator or by visiting the plan custodian’s website.
  2. Determine a percentage to donate to the a MultiCare program or foundation foundation or program of your choice.
  3. Reach out to our gift planning team for the best language to use on the form to ensure your gift is directed as you want and submit the form.

Whether you’ve worked or volunteered for MultiCare like Susan or have personally been impacted by one of our programs, there are many ways you can leave a legacy honoring your experience. To learn more, contact our gift planning team at 253-403-1264 or plannedgiving@multicare.org.