In The News

SURPRISE, ARIZ., Oct. 30, 2018 – Sun Health’s diabetes prevention course has earned “full recognition” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making it the first in-person National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) in Arizona to receive this designation. “Our diabetes educators have helped hundreds of people reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. We are proud to be one of the first programs in the state to receive full recognition status,” says Jennifer Drago, executive vice president of Population Health at Sun Health. Full recognition takes on added importance because Medicare recently began covering the NDPP as a benefit for Medicare patients already diagnosed with prediabetes. Sun Health has offered the CDC curriculum for prediabetes for several years. Classes are taught by an exercise physiologist who also is a certified health coach and two certified diabetes educators/registered dietitian nutritionists. Developed by the CDC, the NDPP is a lifestyle-change and education program designed for those at risk for, or already diagnosed with, prediabetes. It’s clinically proven to cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by more than half. The CDC reports that a weight loss of five to seven percent of body weight — for example, 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person — can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. In adults over 65, it’s been shown to reduce the risk by 71 percent. To earn full recognition, NDPP providers must meet rigorous CDC standards based on an organization’s curriculum, number of participants entering the program with a qualifying blood test, participant engagement and success in meeting weight loss goals. Learn more at sunhealthwellbeing.org/diabetes-prevention or call (623) 832-WELL (9355). Upcoming NDPP Series Class Dates for 2019 Starting Monday, Jan. 7, 9 to 10 a.m. Banner Boswell Medical Center Support Services

SURPRISE, ARIZ. – May 5, 2016 – Registered nurse case manager Brittany Eads and executive vice president Jennifer Drago highlighted Sun Health’s successful Care Transitions program with a presentation at the 9th Annual Orthopedic and Spine Summit held April 27-29, in Chicago. The talk was titled “Minimizing Costs in the Post-Acute Environment Through Effective Transitions of Care.” Major changes are taking place in orthopedic care for Medicare patients, including a greater emphasis on managing orthopedic surgery patients from a quality and cost standpoint, two areas in which Sun Health’s Care Transitions program has excelled. “Twenty to 25 percent of the patients we currently manage have had orthopedic surgeries such as hip and knee replacements, so we are very skilled at managing them and understanding what their challenges are going to be,” said Drago, who directs Population Health for nonprofit Sun Health. Eads worked for years as a nurse on the orthopedic floor at Banner Boswell Medical Center before she joined Sun Health’s Care Transitions team. “During the talk, we were able to give actual examples and case studies of things that have happened to orthopedic patients in our program and to share the lessons we’ve learned,” Eads said. On April 1, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out mandatory bundled payments for hip and knee replacements, the most common inpatient surgeries for Medicare beneficiaries. Hospitals and doctors in 67 regions (not yet including Arizona) are now at risk for all Medicare spending for hip and knee replacements. Under bundled payments, hospitals where the surgery takes place will be accountable for the quality and the costs of care from the start of surgery through 90 days following discharge. “If providers do a good job helping the patient recover and they manage the costs, they presumably will share

SURPRISE, ARIZ. – Feb. 24, 2016 – Nonprofit Sun Health and Dr. Roger Landry, physician, author and founder/president of Masterpiece Living®, have collaborated on a new e-book aimed at helping older adults get more out of life. “Defining The New Older Adult: How to Create Vitality & Purpose During Your Retirement,” contains Dr. Landry’s tips for successful aging based on Masterpiece Living’s four principles, centered on physical, social, intellectual and spiritual development. To download a complimentary copy of the e-book, go to http://www.sunhealthseniorliving.org/defining-the-new-older-adult. All three of Sun Health senior living communities have been members of the Masterpiece Living program since 2011. Guided by the MacArthur Foundation’s research on aging, Masterpiece Living helps senior living communities become places where residents and staff members celebrate the many positive aspects of aging. In addition, Dr. Landry will be a keynote speaker at Sun Health’s annual Board of Directors and Community Leaders Retreat, Feb. 26, at The Colonnade, a Sun Health Life Care community in Surprise. He will speak about “Successful Aging – A Population Health Necessity.” Dr. Roger Landry is a preventive medicine physician, author of the best-selling book, “Live Long, Die Short,” and founder/president of Masterpiece Living, a group of multi-discipline specialists in aging who partner with communities to assist them in becoming destinations for continued growth. Trained at Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard University School of Public Health, Dr. Landry specializes in building environments that encourage older adults to maximize their unique potential. About Sun Health A long-standing champion of healthy living and superior health care, Sun Health is a community-based non-profit organization providing pathways to population health through philanthropy, senior living programs and communities, and community wellness programs and services. Sun Health Senior Living includes three independent-living Life Care communities (Grandview Terrace in Sun City West, La Loma Village

SURPRISE, ARIZ. – Aug. 19, 2015 – With nearly 50 years under its “health” belt, Sun Health knows a few things about health and wellness. The nonprofit company aims to share its “smarts” with a wider audience through a new magazine called LiveWell. Sun Health President and CEO Ron Guziak describes LiveWell as an Arizona health magazine featuring “news, interviews, features, practical health tips and recipes designed to appeal to health-conscious older adults who want more out of life.” The monthly magazine’s first issue (September) was released this week, with 100,000 issues inserted in three newspapers: the Arizona Republic in the West Valley, the Daily News-Sun and The Independent in the Northwest Valley. LiveWell also will be available at a dozen locations in the Northwest Valley and online at www.sunhealth.org/livewell. The first issue includes an interview with 89-year-old Tom Pellett, a resident of Grandview Terrace, a Sun Health senior living community, who shares his experience checking an item off his bucket list; a look at new technologies — funded by Sun Health Foundation donors — that doctors are using at Banner Boswell and Banner Del E. Webb medical centers to save lives and improve care; tips on how older adults can prevent serious falls; and the Healthy U section, listing health and wellness education classes offered by Sun Health in September. The magazine is designed, written, printed and distributed by Republic Media In collaboration with Sun Health’s marketing team. “Sun Health’s vision is to be a leading advocate for healthy living. LiveWell is an extension of that vision,” Guziak said. LiveWell-Sept-2015 About Sun Health A long-standing champion of healthy living, research and superior health care, Sun Health is a community-based organization providing pathways to population health through philanthropy, senior living communities and community wellness programs. Learn more at www.SunHealth.org.