Michael Seagraves

The Seagraves family on the beachThirteen years ago Michael Seagraves came to work for Dignity Health largely by matter of chance. After relocating with his family from rural Iowa to his home state of California, Michael began working as a per diem Occupational Therapist at Dominican Rehabilitation Center in Santa Cruz. Looking back, he simply had no idea how this decision would lead to such a rich and rewarding career. 

Over the years, Michael has transitioned from being a clinician to leading strategy and operations for our enterprise healthcare IT initiatives. During this journey, Michael has had the opportunity to witness our mission, vision, and values lived out daily by many dedicated Dignity Health employees from all areas of our organization.  This experience has reinforced one of Michael’s first impressions of our organization:  every day we serve a purpose bigger than ourselves.

Last year, Michael was inspired to begin giving back to Dignity Health after listening to a philanthropic overview of the organization provided by Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Fred Najjar.  In that session, Michael learned how easy it is to use the Dignity Health self-service tool to set-up a Personal Time Off (PTO) donation to Philanthropy, and he set up a recurring gift that very day.

Michael believes that giving is as much a gift for the one who gives as it is for the one who receives.  He summarizes his motivation for giving by sharing this simple school verse that his three daughters taught the family:

From you I receive
            To you I give
Together we share
       By this, we live.

Michael believes that Philanthropy is an important endeavor for us both individually and collectively.  As individuals it allows us to experience the “gift of giving,” and in doing so it connects us to life’s abundance and to one other. Collectively, when we give to a shared cause we become connected as one family with a common purpose, greater than ourselves.

Married 20 years, Michael and his wife Ruth have three daughters, ranging from 8 to 15 years old. Of the 11 houses on their cul-de-sac in a suburb of Sacramento, four are occupied by fellow Dignity Health employees.  They like to call it “Humankindness Court.”