IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/04/09 -- Ten skilled nursing centers operated by SunBridge Healthcare Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH), have earned the prestigious 2009 Step 1 Quality Award for demonstrating a strong commitment to continuous quality improvement by the American Health Care Association and the National Center For Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

They are among 65 SunBridge nursing centers to have earned this award since 2000. The nursing centers receiving with this award for 2009 include:

Hazlehurst Court Care and Rehabilitation Center (Ga.)
Keller Landing Care and Rehabilitation Center (Ala.)
Pope John Paul II Care and Rehabilitation Center (Conn.)
Larkin Chase Care and Rehabilitation Center (Conn.)
Elkton Care and Rehabilitation Center (Conn.)
Circleville Care and Rehabilitation Center (Ohio)
New Lexington Care and Rehabilitation Center (Ohio)
Homestead Care and Rehabilitation Center (Ohio)
Washington Terrace Care and Rehabilitation Center (Utah)
Springwood Care and Rehabilitation Center (Fla.)

The staff at each of these centers will be honored for their achievement and presented with an award during the AHCA/NCAL 60th Annual Convention and Exposition, October 4-7, 2009, in Chicago, Ill. These SunBridge care centers are among 436 long-term care centers across the nation to earn this type of award in 2009.

According to AHCA/NCAL, Step I recipients receive this recognition for their commitment to a customer-focused mission by defining their principal customers and their expectations and indicating ways of continually striving to meet those needs.

"I am extremely proud of our nursing center teams who have earned this recognition," said Bill Mathies, president and chief operating officer for SunBridge Healthcare Corporation and SHG Services, Inc. "Their commitment is demonstrated daily through their interactions with residents, families and fellow employees, and clearly, quality of care is a way of life at their centers."

Furthermore, AHCA/NCAL indicates that Step I award winners recognize providers that have developed the foundation for continuous quality improvement and that have taken the first step in corresponding with any public measures of performance.

The AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards are considered to serve as a valuable framework within the long-term care profession in developing a systems-based perspective toward achieving performance excellence. AHCA/NCAL's Quality Award is modeled after the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier award recognizing distinguished achievements.

About Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. and SunBridge Healthcare Corp.

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.