SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., Nov. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG or “Ensign”), the parent company of the Ensign™ group of companies, which invest in and provide skilled nursing and senior living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, announced today that Mr. Roy Christensen passed away peacefully on November 11, 2021 at the age of 87 from a short illness.

“It’s difficult to sum up the influence Roy had on our industry and the little Company we started 22 years ago,” said Christopher R. Christensen, Ensign’s Executive Chairman. “He truly was a pioneer and a visionary that has impacted so many that knew him and even more that did not. When we set out to create a new kind of skilled nursing company in 1999, we chose to name it “Ensign”, which means a flag or a standard, with the hope that we could do something different to help the industry be better than it had been in the past. At the core of this vision was a focus on a culture of leadership and values that would better serve patients and their families. While we have a long way to go to fully realize our dream, Roy beamed with pride when he surveyed the success we have achieved, while staying true to the principles upon which the Company was founded. He was especially honored when he talked about all of the thousands of co-founders and heroes that strive every day to carry out this collective mission. Words can’t describe how much he was loved and will be missed.”

Mr. Barry Port, Ensign’s Chief Executive Officer added, “Roy once told me that his involvement in helping to form this Ensign family was one of the crowning achievements of his entire life. I know his great hope would be that with his passing, his legacy will be honored and carried forward for many, many years to come by that same standard. Roy’s place in the culture of Ensign is irreplaceable, but our entire Company is joined together in our determination to honor his legacy. We join the Christensen family in their mourning, and share in their immense pride and gratitude for the life he led and are honored to continue to strive to uphold the standard and ensign Roy exemplified.”

Mr. Christensen has been a member of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) since the Company was formed, serving as chairman of the board from 1999 until May 2019 when he became chairman emeritus and director. The Company also recently announced Mr. Christensen’s retirement and resignation from the Board where he was expected to continue to provide certain consulting services to the Board and the management team as a non-voting chairman emeritus.

Prior to founding Ensign, he founded Beverly Enterprises in 1963, which grew to be the largest nursing home company in the country, with more than 1,000 facilities across the country. He left Beverly in the mid-1970s and started teaching full time at Brigham Young University. He returned to the skilled nursing industry in 1986 when he founded GranCare, which he eventually took public, but gave up his full-time duties in 1991. He also founded Covenant Care, Inc. and served as its CEO from 1994 to 1997.

About Ensign™

The Ensign Group, Inc.'s independent operating subsidiaries provide a broad spectrum of skilled nursing and senior living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at 245 healthcare facilities, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. More information about Ensign is available at http://www.ensigngroup.net.

Contact Information

The Ensign Group, Inc., (949) 487-9500, ir@ensigngroup.net

SOURCE: The Ensign Group, Inc.