Sun Healthcare Group Announces Recognition For Leadership Role In Employee Training And Development

IRVINE, CA -- Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) will be recognized by Workforce Management -- a nationwide publication dedicated to trends impacting human resources -- for its leadership role in employee training and development initiatives. As the recipient of Workforce Management’s 2007 Optimas award in the “vision” category, Sun has demonstrated its commitment to its workforce and the resulting effect on business. Sun was selected along with nine other national and international companies noted for their workforce management initiatives. Workforce Management publisher Todd Johnson stated, “These companies embody the ethics, efficient practices and creative inspiration that directly impact and enhance business results.” Sun, the only company representing the long-term care industry, will be awarded at a ceremony later this month.


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“With the healthcare industry facing a growing aging population, coupled with a workforce shortage and high employee turnover, Sun made the decision to face these challenges head on and, in the process, lead the effort within the long-term care industry,” said Heidi Fisher, Sun’s senior vice president for human resources. In 2002, Sun created a workforce development team led by Catherine Wisnoski, vice president of resource development, to its existing human resources department. This team has created a career pathways workforce development initiative for SunBridge Healthcare Corporation -- the subsidiary entity of Sun that encompasses the long-term care operations, designed to address the challenges of retention and focus on improved employee satisfaction. The initiative provides educational opportunities to SunBridge nursing center employees. At this point, programs are underway in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Alabama. The initiative has resulted in as much as a 50 percent reduction in employee turnover and has significantly increased employee job satisfaction in the centers where the initiative was implemented.

In the future, Wisnoski plans to expand the initiative to other states where SunBridge has nursing centers. “We have only begun to explore what is possible in workforce development for our company,” says Wisnoski. “With the company in full support of this initiative, I am certain that we are well on our way.”

About Sun Healthcare Group, Inc.

Sun Healthcare Group, Inc., with executive offices in Irvine, California, owns SunBridge Healthcare Corporation and other affiliated companies that operate long-term and postacute care centers in many states. In addition, the Sun Healthcare Group family of companies provides therapy through SunDance Rehabilitation Corporation, hospice services through SolAmor Hospice and medical staffing through CareerStaff Unlimited, Inc.