Deirdre Manigo joins Sunny Hill staff as assistant administrator

JOLIET – A desire to work with senior citizens and having visited Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County to visit a friend’s relative made becoming the assistant adminstrator there a natural fit for Deirdre Manigo.

“That’s why I became licensed – to become an administrator,” said Manigo.

“I am very excited to have Deirdre join the Sunny Hill team and am looking forward to her contributions as we move forward in our resident-centered mission,” said Becky Haldorson, Sunny Hill administrator. “She has the residents’ best interest at heart and has shown herself to be just the right fit for Sunny Hill.”

Manigo received her undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and her graduate degree from Argosy University in Chicago. Right after college, Manigo started working with developmental disabilities clients in the Easterseals Joliet Region residential department, where she stayed for 18 years. She earned her Nursing Home Administrator license in 2014.  

Most recently, the Shorewood woman had worked for Pioneer Concepts as an administrator over the organization’s Intermediate Care Facilities in Dolton and Sauk Village.

“(ICF’s) have the same regulations as nursing homes,” she said. “My passion … really became to work with seniors.” She wants to be able to honor their wishes and see them treated respectfully.

Those were things she had witnessed firsthand when she and her best friend would visit her friend’s grandmother at Sunny Hill. Whether it be for the birthday parties in a private room or how the staff interacted with “Nana” when she was declining, it was done with caring.

“I was very excited to become part of the team here.”

For additional information about the county-owned facility, go to www.willcountyillinois.com. Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County, 421 Doris Ave., can also be found on Facebook.