Meet Mike Mankenberg, SVL Director of Nursing

Mike Mankenberg is a Glendale resident and was named Director of Nursing at Sun Valley Lodge in January of 2012. Mike was born in northern Minnesota and grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota. He attended Northern State College for 1 ½ years before transferring to the University of South Dakota where he graduated with degrees in Nursing and Psychology.

After graduation, Mike moved to Omaha for a year before relocating to Phoenix where he was employed at St. Luke’s Medical Center and at Scottsdale Camelback Hospital. Following his father’s death in 1983, Mike returned to the northern Midwest and began his work with the elderly. He served as a nursing supervisor at Ah-Gwah-Ching Nursing Home, a state facility for the elderly, and at the Minneapolis Veterans Home in Minnesota for 11 years before getting the itch to return to the Valley of the Sun.

Mike’s first job after resettling in Phoenix was with the State Hospital, but it was not long before he returned to serving the elderly. Since 1995 Mike has worked at various long-term care facilities across the Valley doing staff education and holding assistant director of nursing, director of nursing, and infection preventionist positions.

Mike’s Glendale home is a “mini-farm” where he grows vegetables and raises a variety of animals including chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. He says that his new job matches his laid back lifestyle. “I was looking for a place where people live rather than just pass through. The Lodge is homey, slow paced, and focused on what is best for residents. It feels like home … like a place where people take the time to visit and do nice things. It is also a place where employees are committed to their jobs and stay for a long time.”