Supporting Compassionate Care Through Estate Planning

Ross Baker’s family has received care from Virginia Mason for decades — but he’s especially grateful for the expertise and compassion that they offered his mother during her breast cancer journey. She passed away in 2003, but Ross and his family were moved by Virginia Mason’s expertise and compassion.

“The nurses and care teams were always positive, informative, transparent and caring,” Ross says. “They had a deep impact on me and my family at the end of my mom’s life and have always stayed in our hearts and memories.”

Ross has been part of the Virginia Mason community for most of his life: He first received care at our First Hill clinic when he was a teenager. He later came to us for knee surgery after a pickup basketball injury when he returned to Seattle after law school.

He has been Virginia Mason’s public policy director since 2012, analyzing and advocating upon a variety of issues, such as working to help pass progressive telemedicine legislation in 2014. This and subsequent federal and state actions helped increase access to care for patients and reduced legal obstacles that enabled us to quickly expand telemedicine during the pandemic.

Ross’ experience with our organization helps explain why he recently wrote Virginia Mason into his estate plans.

“My family has a long history of receiving high-quality care from the organization,” he says. “I have a history of working with our patient-facing team members and senior administrative leaders, which has instilled great respect and pride for Virginia Mason’s work. My knowledge from my work here and my experiences serving on the boards of and volunteering with several other nonprofits helps me recognize the importance of the foundation’s work and the need for resources to support it.”

Ross’ gift to Virginia Mason is unrestricted, which means it can be used to support any area of financial need.  

“Nonprofits often receive restricted donations, but their needs shift over time and funding changes,” he says. “I think an unrestricted donation gives an organization the most flexibility.”

He hopes his support helps enable Virginia Mason to continue to provide expert and compassionate care.

“Virginia Mason has a unique and special role in the health care community,” he says. “I hope their legacy will be preserved far into the future. I trust that my gift and other potential gifts from my family will help Virginia Mason achieve that long-lasting success.”

Is it time to complete or update your estate plans? We are here to help. Contact our office with any questions or for a courtesy planning guide at (206) 583-2303 or email Susan.Clifford@VirginiaMason.org.

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