Foundation board member and volunteer devotes time to health system that healed his daughter

If you’ve visited Mary Bridge Children’s or MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, you may have met Peter Norman during one of his volunteer shifts. The longtime Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation board member, known across the health system for his “heart of gold,” dedicates his time and talent helping those in need.

In 2018, he received the W.W. Philip Lifetime Legacy Award at Mary Bridge Children’s Bridge Builders Luncheon — an annual event celebrating community members’ dedication to giving back. And over the past three years, he’s volunteered more than 260 hours, serving patients and care teams in Tacoma.

Peter’s connection to MultiCare began nearly 50 years ago when his eldest daughter got sick with salmonella at 13 months old. Thanks to the help of her expert care team at Mary Bridge Children’s, she recovered and returned home after a weeklong stay in the hospital.

While it was a scary moment, Peter looks back on that experience with gratitude and appreciation for the talented team of health care professionals that gave him confidence his daughter would recover.

“I knew everything was going to be okay, and we couldn’t be in better hands,” Peter explains. “The attention people were paying to our family was difficult for me to comprehend. I’d never experienced a situation where somebody cared that much.”

Paying it forward

That hospital experience inspired Peter to support philanthropy at MultiCare. He went on to serve on numerous boards and committees, including the MultiCare Health Foundation and Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation.

In 2019, he started volunteering at Tacoma General’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as a NICU rocker. For several months, Peter visited the hospital every Friday to comfort babies born prematurely or with serious health problems.

But when COVID-19 struck and the NICU could no longer safely facilitate volunteer support, he looked for new ways to serve. At the start of the pandemic, that meant collecting food donations and personal protective equipment at the Tacoma General Hospital loading dock amid a global shortage

“I knew some of the people that were first responders; I had some physician friends and I was aware of the commitment a lot of them were making,” Peter says. “I thought the least I can do is stand on the curb and accept donations.”

Peter’s commitment to helping others resonated with Julie Hubbard, manager of Volunteer Services. She remembers him sitting outside on J Street in Tacoma during the height of the pandemic, meeting each donor with a friendly hello.

“He was down there, rain or shine,” she recalls. “He was so dedicated throughout that entire process. He was there every single week for four hours just meeting people who would drop off masks and food donations.”

Serving wherever the need is greatest

Now, three years into his volunteer journey, Peter has continued to show up in new ways to care for community members and health care workers.

“As things started to change and needs shifted at the hospital, he would always be one of the first to respond,” Julie recalls.

Peter has helped collect and distribute meals to staff. He’s volunteered at Mary Bridge Children’s Courage and has made weekly phone calls to seniors faced with isolation through the Senior Companion Program. Recently, he returned to the NICU as a baby rocker, and he also stepped into a new role as a volunteer for Mary Bridge Children’s Loves to Read program.

To help get books into the hands of more children, volunteers like Peter wheel a cart filled with age-appropriate selections from room to room, ensuring every Mary Bridge Children’s patient leaves with a new favorite in hand. The program is made possible by Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation donors.

When Peter delivers books, he’s reminded of his family’s Mary Bridge Children’s experience. Seeing parents and children confident in the high-quality care they’re receiving from doctors, nurses and other staff members is a reminder he’s exactly where he’s meant to be.

“Although they (the parents) don’t say it, I sense they are confident that the best that could be done for their kid is being done,” Peter says. “The reaction I get from parents is a reflection on the nurses, the doctors and the things they do for these kids. To be part of that, or even be considered on the team, is a real blessing.”

Follow Peter’s lead and learn more about volunteering in an area that matches your skills, interests and availability. Apply today at multicare.org/volunteers/apply-now/.