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Sunrise Medical senior VP passes away

Sunrise Medical senior VP passes away

June 28, 2004 LONGMONT, Colo. - Ken Yannerella, Sunrise Medical's senior vice president of sales, died of a heart attack at his Dallas home June 19. Yannerella was responsible for wholesaler, acute care and national accounts. Yannerella's career spanned 25 years with Sunrise and half a dozen different roles within the organization. He started with the company in 1978, as a representative for Guardian Products prior to the division's acquisition by Sunrise. In 1982, he was promoted to regional manager over the southwestern United States based in Nashville, Tenn. In 1985, Yannerella assumed the position of director of national accounts for homecare, rehab, and drug wholesalers based out of Orange County, Calif. It was during this period that the industry began to grow rapidly and Sunrise established its initial relationships with Abbey Medical, Rotech, The MED Group and the growing national drug wholesalers such as McKesson and Bergen Brunswig (now Amerisource). Following a series of aggressive acquisitions by Sunrise and the integration of several sales forces, in 1988, Yannerella assumed the role of Director of the Rehab Group and National Accounts specializing in products for the emerging rehabilitation marketplace. Again in 1991, as the company grew even greater in size, Yannerella became the Central Regional Sales Director for Homecare and Rehab based in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1997, Yannerella was promoted to Area Vice President for the Southwestern Region relocating back to Dallas, Texas. In December of 2000, he was promoted within the organization to Vice President of Distributor Accounts. This position over the past several years has expanded into the Vice President of National Accounts and his latest role as Senior Vice President of Sales. Yannerella is survived by Alina, his wife of 28 years, and his two sons, Brandon, 23, and Shawn, 19.

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