Sunrise Assisted Living celebrated its third anniversary in Pacific Palisades with an open house, musical entertainment, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a free dinner Saturday night. Longtime Palisades resident and Broadway legend John Raitt (‘Carousel,’ ‘The Pajama Game’), sang some of his favorite songs and talked about his long and colorful career. Guests also toured the three-story facility and met with the new executive director, Judy Uy-Villaruz. Uy-Villaruz was introduced into the Sunrise community June 21. She previously served as executive director at Gardena Retirement, a 108-bed assisted living facility in Gardena, for 1-1/2 years. However, her assisted living experience began in 1991, when she was 24, and her parents asked her to start a new family business’a six-bed assisted living facility. ‘I did all the startup for them’recruiting, licensing and training,’ says Uy-Villaruz, who earned her degree in accounting from Cal State Dominguez Hills around the same time. The facility she helped establish, called Menlo House, is now one of three her family has founded. ‘My dad’s side of the family is all CPAs or self-employed, and my mom’s side is nurses and doctors,’ says Uy-Villaruz, who emigrated with her parents from the Phillipines to the United States when she was 4 years old. She currently resides in Carson with her husband and two small children (ages 2 and 6 months), and is planning to pursue a master’s degree in heath administration in spring 2005. Uy-Villaruz told the Post that there are currently three rooms available on the second assisted living floor. Sunrise is located at 15441 Sunset. Contact: 573-9545.
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