The Ensign Group (ENSG) announces retirement of Board's Executive Chairman

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, other rehabilitative and healthcare services, and real estate, announced today that Christopher Christensen, Executive Chairman and member of the Ensign Board of Directors, has provided notice to the board of his intent to retire from both his roles effective September 1, 2025.

Barry R. Port, Ensign’s Chief Executive Officer, has been appointed to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors, effective September 1, 2025. Mr. Port will continue to serve as Ensign’s Chief Executive Officer, a role he’s held since May 30, 2019. Prior to that, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Ensign Services, Inc. for five years and has been with the organization in various operational roles for over 21 years.

In addition, Marivic Uychiat has been appointed to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, filling the vacancy on the board created by Mr. Christensen’s retirement, effective September 1, 2025. Ms. Uychiat has been a key contributor in the organization for over 22 years and has served as Executive Vice President of Clinical Services at Ensign Services, Inc. since 2016. Before assuming her current role, Ms. Uychiat served as Director of Clinical Services for the company’s California operations. Her extensive background also includes a decade-long tenure as Director of Nursing at Vista Knoll Specialized Care, where she oversaw comprehensive care for psychiatric/neuro-behavioral, dementia, and short-term post-acute rehabilitation patients. Her professional expertise spans skilled healthcare management, clinical program development, and policymaking.

“Marivic is a mission-driven healthcare leader committed to clinical excellence, operational efficiency, and leadership development. Her approach has consistently driven performance improvements across Ensign's portfolio. She brings nearly three decades of nursing excellence and leadership in the Skilled Nursing and Post-Acute Care industry to the board. We are excited to spread her influence more broadly across the organization,” said Port.

Discussing his retirement, Christensen added, “As I start my next chapter, I am confident that the leadership team that has been in place since 2019 will remain true to the cultural values that have and will continue to make us strong. The members of the Company’s leadership team, on average, have been part of this organization for more than twenty years and, as a team, they have continued to show, over and over, that they will guide this organization by following the principles upon which it was founded. While words cannot describe my time with this incredible organization, I am confident that Ensign is ideally situated to continue growing our post-acute care businesses around the country.”

He added, “Ensign has been able to consistently achieve outstanding clinical and financial performance because the organization’s local leaders and caregivers dedicate their lives to the service of their patients, families and their local healthcare communities. With the support of their Service Center resources, these talented local teams continue to deliver high quality healthcare outcomes to increasingly complex patients, in a cost-effective setting. And it’s that commitment to our unique operating model and our collective distrust in a traditional, top-down corporate model, that gives me the confidence Ensign will continue to achieve great things into the future.”

Christensen concluded, “Having Ensign in my life has truly been a gift. So many inside and outside the organization have shared their personal stories with me and what Ensign means to them. I have so much respect and admiration for the more than 50,000 partners who have committed their lives to the service of others, and it has been an honor to serve alongside them. I have never been more energized or exhilarated about the health of this organization and the opportunities that lie ahead. These are exciting times for all of us. I have been honored to serve as the executive chairman of a company that has created value for so many. As an ambassador for Ensign, I look forward to supporting and promoting my dear friends and colleagues in any way I can as they strive to continue our mission to dignify post-acute care in the eyes of the world.”

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