HAZARD, Ky. – She tries not to talk too much about the July 2022 flood that devastated much of eastern Kentucky and nearly destroyed her family home in her native Hindman.

Instead of focusing on the things the water carried away, Sonya Bergman chooses to give thanks for all it left behind.

“We know we’re so very blessed and so fortunate,” she says, thanking God for sparing the lives of her family. “It could have been so much worse.”

As Bergman, Chief People Officer for Appalachian Regional Healthcare, gives thanks that her family was unharmed, she also gives thanks for her coworkers, who she has long considered part of her extended family.

“But when the flood hit, my husband and daughter saw it, too,” she says. “We had ARH people bringing us food, taking care of us, and just reaching out to make sure we were OK and to tell us they care.

“We saw the love ARH had for us and has for the whole community.”

Though Bergman, who will celebrate 25 years with ARH later this year, says she will always be grateful for that support, she says the response is nothing new.

“You’ll always find that here,” she says. “No matter what’s going on, we’ll all drop everything and run to help. We’re here for each other. And I think that’s pretty darn special.”

Bergman has always considered herself a “southeastern Kentucky girl.”

That’s why, she says, even though her father’s work took the family to Michigan during her high school years, she planned to return home.

“I just knew this is where I wanted to be,” she says. “Kentucky is my heart. Appalachia is my heart.”

After graduation, Bergman moved to Pippa Passes, where she studied business administration at Alice Lloyd College.

Though both parents were educators, it was the healthcare industry that called out and compelled her to pursue a master’s degree in health and hospital administration at the University of Kentucky.

“I thought about pre-med when I was in high school, but, though I greatly admire and respect the people who do patient care, I knew I couldn’t do that,” she says of her decision to pursue a role in the business side of the industry.

Her master’s studies could have led to a variety of positions in the healthcare industry, but Bergman’s personality – and a specific trait she says she inherited from her father – led her into human resources.

“My dad has a real love for people,” she says. “I think I got that from him, and so I realized human resources would allow me to stay in healthcare and also share my love and passion for working with and helping people.”

Bergman’s first post-graduate venture into the workforce was with a home health agency in Somerset.

Within a few years, she found a position in human resources at Mary Breckinridge, now an ARH facility, but still owned and operated at that time by the Frontier Nursing Service.

That position, she says, afforded her a unique opportunity to try her hand in a variety of tasks.

“Because it’s a very small hospital in a very small community, I had the chance to do just about everything,” she says, noting she worked not only in human resources, but in physician recruitment, clinic management and hospital administration. “It was a really great experience and introduction into hospital healthcare.”

Bergman’s next stops were at Our Lady of the Way, not yet owned by ARH, and then at Pikeville Medical Center.

“I was in Pikeville when I had our only child,” she says of Ashley, now 25 and studying to become a physician assistant. “We lived in Knott County and knew we wanted to stay there, but I was driving an hour to work and an hour home. It was too much so I decided to look for something closer.”

Her search quickly paid off, as she was named director of HR for Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center. Bergman held that position from 1999 until 2006 when she was named ARH Systems Director of Human Resources.

“During that time, I worked mainly with benefits and employee and labor relations,” she says, explaining her first years with ARH marked her introduction to working with unions.

“I feel I found a true respect for a positive labor relationship during that time,” she says. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, we’re here to take care of our communities and our patients.

“Whatever that takes.”

Those lessons learned long ago are words she’s continued to share with her team as she advanced first to the position of Vice President of Human Resources in 2019 and most recently to the position of Chief People Officer.

“Which I love,” she says with a smile. “I think it’s a very fitting title for me.”

The unique name, she says often prompts people to ask, “‘what is that person?’

“I think it’s an all-encompassing job to make sure all of our people are in the right jobs and are comfortable with their lives here at ARH,” she explains. “To me, it’s a Day 1 to their retirement date job. It’s asking what we can do to make their journey at ARH, from their very first day to their very last day, the most pleasant it can be.”

And in effort to provide a positive experience for every ARH employee, Bergman works closely with her team to ensure each person feels seen, heard and respected at all times.

“Healthcare has been very challenging over the past few years, not only at ARH but across the country,” she says. “ARH has proven we can turn on a dime when we need to, and I think we’ve done some pretty cool things for our staff to make sure they’re happy and also to recruit new members to our team.”

Bergman mentions workforce initiatives including scholarships and partnerships with local colleges designed to help grow and strengthen the talent pipeline that provides new employees for ARH.

“And not just that, but also providing a very wealthy benefits plan to our employees and helping with tuition for those who want to grow and further their education,” she says. “I’m super proud of that.”

She’s also proud, she says, of the results of ARH’s internal communication efforts since ARH President and CEO Hollie Harris assumed office in 2021.

“I think we’ve really upped our game with everything from the HUB to communications with the CEO,” she says of the email address that allows for direct conversation with Harris. “How many organizations have an email for anyone and to just freely share comments and suggestions with their CEO?

“It’s pretty awesome.”

During Harris’ transition period, she, Bergman and Melissa Cornett, ARH Assistant Vice President of Communications, traveled to each of ARH’s 14 hospitals for what they coined a “listening tour.”

“It gave people an opportunity to share their experiences, to meet the CEO and for her to meet them,” Bergman says. “We beat the doors down across all of our communities and we’re still beating those doors down.

“Reaching out is so important and impactful and it’s something we’ll never stop doing.”

Bergman will celebrate her 25^th year with ARH in November.

Twenty-five years with, she hopes, no end in sight.

“I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in my career,” she says. “I love this organization. I love my team. I love my leaders and my coworkers. That’s a very profound thing to be able to say, but I am very content.”

Content, she says, but never complacent.

“Maybe it has to do with the nature of healthcare and all of the challenges and changes,” she says. “Are some days tough? Absolutely. But to know that we can help people – help make their experiences and their lives better – that’s what keeps me going.”

And just as Chris, her husband of 35 years, and Ashley learned during the flood, ARH, too, is always there to help.

“It’s the soup cookoff to raise money when someone’s son is sick,” Bergman says. “It’s the caring. It’s what we do.

“It’s just family.”

Get to Know Sonya Bergman

What is your favorite song? Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

What is your favorite singer? Kenny Chesney

What is your favorite movie? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I watch it all year long!

Are you a morning or a night person? Morning, for sure!!

What is the wallpaper on your phone? A picture of me and my Cocker Spaniel Freckles that we had for 15 years.

Who would play you in a movie? Tina Fey

What is your favorite book? “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks

What is your favorite quote? “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

What is your dream car? An old wood panel Jeep Wagoneer

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I was a National Indoor Badminton Champion in high school.

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Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), is a not-for-profit health system operating 14 hospitals in Barbourville, Hazard, Harlan, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, as well as multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies and medical spas. ARH employs approximately 6,700 people with an annual payroll and benefits of $474 million generated into our local economies. ARH also has a network of more than 1,300 providers on staff across its multi-state system. ARH is the largest provider of care and the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky, and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.