Reflection given at Good Samaritan’s new sign unveiling

On Thursday, Nov. 16, with Intermountain leaders, caregivers and neighborhood partners gathered at Good Samaritan to witness the unveiling of our new monument sign, we introduced our new name and brand to the communities we serve.

But while our name is new, our mission to help all people, including the most vulnerable, live their healthiest lives remains unchanged. To underscore our devotion, our own Rev. Alicia Harker, Intermountain’s regional director of Spiritual Care and Mission Integration, offered this reflection:

We follow in the footsteps of women who broke down racial, religious and social barriers to care for the underserved, the marginalized, or those left with access to the shared benefits of society and in the footsteps of innovative healthcare leaders driving value-based care. 

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan tells of a man traveling along a road from Jerusalem and Jericho and was stripped, robbed, beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite came along and saw the man but walked by without offering help. A Samaritan, one from the northern part of Israel, of a community tradition tells was disliked by those from Jerusalem, stopped to render aid to the injured man, took him to an inn, and continued in provision for caring for this injured man. Jesus then invites the hearers of the story to go and do the same.  

This is the kind of healing ministry that you are a part of every day at Good Samaritan. Today, we publicly mark this moment in our history and transition from Good Samaritan Medical Center to Intermountain Health – Good Samaritan Hospital. This change affirms our mission of caring for the poor and vulnerable and partnering with patients and other caregivers in our mission.  

Because we believe in what we do, we celebrate our shared commitment, living our shared Intermountain Health values, values that connect us with The Good Samaritan, with our legacy founders, and with one another across the western mountain states. It is here that we continue as leaders in clinical excellence, serving with empathy as partners in health. Mother Xavier Ross, one of the original Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth once said, “All of us change in some measure, each because of the other…and that is how it should be.”  

In my faith tradition, we often use the language, “outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” For Intermountain Good Samaritan Hospital, we unveil today the outward sign guiding us to faith, healing and hope inside the hospital doors. We are ever-changing, and at Intermountain Health – Good Samaritan Hospital, we are better together. The name of our hospital is a sign to all who enter that what happens in this place happens in the spirit of faith, caring and partnership in serving our neighbors and helping people live the healthiest lives possible. 

Thank you for serving as an essential partner in our history and mission, and for your commitment to our mission moving forward so we can continue to best care for the communities we serve.