Today we are wishing our wonderful residents, Theresa & Jack Egan, a very Happy 67th Wedding Anniversary! They were married at St Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Center & are blessed with 7 children, 14 grandchildren and 6 great grand children! What a special couple!
Benchmark Founder & CEO Tom Grape participated in a panel discussion regarding how assisted living communities navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lessons learned. Hosted by Mass-ALA, the panel was part of a two-day conference during which Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Elder Affairs Secretary Elizabeth Chen spoke. #MassALA #GovernorBaker #SecretaryChen
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/33hvREi
Happy Birthday to our dear resident, Vicky! 🎂🎁🎉🎈! Thank you to Paula for helping us to make it extra special !
Wishing our very special resident Henry a very Happy Birthday!! & thank you to his wonderful daughter, Maria, for helping to make it fun!!!
It’s a wrap! We celebrated National Assisted Living Week with a bang! Live music, special gifts for staff & residents, drop in card making, pizza party, surprise dancing, obstacle course, snow cone machine and special kosher treats for Rosh Hashana. We are truly embracing this year’s theme: Caring Is Essential. We are so thankful for such caring associates & residents. We are all in this together. Until next year!
"I could not have chosen a better place for (my Mom). Benchmark has made me feel secure. They care... period."
Click on the link below to learn more about what residents and families value most at Benchmark, as we celebrate National Assisted Living Week.
https://hubs.la/H0wj9vH0
Beautiful signs of fall all around our community!
Having fun painting & decorating mini pumpkins 🎃!
Key Lime pie anyone? Residents & staff enjoying delicious homemade pies! What a treat!
Getting ready for Halloween with a Guess How Much I Weigh Contest! More fun to follow!
We are having a great time celebrating some very special birthday ladies this week!
Congratulations to Front Desk Receptionist Ellen Medina for being named Service Champion of the Month!
Michelle Tristani, Benchmark’s Corporate Director of Memory Care, recently authored a column on fall prevention, offering important tips aimed at helping keep older adults safe in their homes. #CalledtoCare #FallPreventionWeek
Read the full story below:
https://bit.ly/3ok6quk
Gettin ready for the Halloween Costume Contest!
Come on Jets! Sunday is NFL Funday!
A wonderful day celebrating our Veterans. Thank you for your service & God Bless the USA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (not all pictured here).
Benchmark Founder and CEO Tom Grape reflected on the amazing veterans in our communities, from our residents to associates. Benchmark would like to sincerely thank all veterans for their service and wish them the very best today, Veterans Day, as well as every day. Read Tom Grape's letter below. #CalledtoCare #VeteransDay
https://bit.ly/36qLmKr
Guy Hemond, VP of Culinary & Dining Experience with Benchmark, was featured in a piece by Senior Dining Association about Benchmark's Memory Care Dining Program.
Guy discusses how Benchmark communities improve memory care dining for residents, including how to create a home-like dining experience, visual stimulation in food and kitchenware, and creative ways to make food easier to eat. We are proud of Guy and our dining associates who strive toward creating a positive dining experience for residents! #CalledtoCare #memorycare #seniordining
Read the full story below:
https://seniordining.org/senior-dining-news/f/ways-to-improve-food-intake-and-dining-in-memory-care
Thanksgiving crafts! Positivity is where it’s at 😍.
Congratulations to Program Assistant, Ashley Corso, for being named Associate of the Month! Ashley works hard to keep residents engaged in fun and interesting activities. Thank you for your dedication, Ashley!
We want to make you aware of new guidelines issued by New York that will apply to residents of assisted living and other congregate care settings who leave their communities for social visits, including holiday gatherings. As part of those guidelines, if a resident chooses to leave or family/friends take a resident home, they will need to:
• Provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before returning.
• Quarantine for 14 days upon return.
• Receive three COVID-19 tests during the 14-day quarantine, including the first and last day of quarantine.
Benchmark Senior Living is a member of three state Assisted Living associations (Argentum NY, Empire State Association of Assisted Living and New York State Center for Assisted Living), all of which have submitted requests for clarification and statements of concern to the NY Department of Health, in response to the Health Advisory that we received yesterday.
Read the entire New York State guidelines below:
https://bit.ly/379ZSGK
Planning for Thanksgiving? Benchmark is encouraging all of our residents to stay home this year, and instead connect and celebrate with family virtually – via ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, etc. Residents and families can schedule a time for a virtual gathering, to share recipes and enjoy each other’s company. #Thanksgiving
Read more about the CDC’s tips for taking part in a safe Thanksgiving below:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
Santa is in the house! Happy Holidays to all! 🎄🎉🎁🍾 Ps. It’s also pajama day !
It was our honor recently to celebrate RCA Lead, Autherine Francis, for being named a finalist as Compassionate Caregiver of the Year at Benchmark! Eight different residents nominated Autherine which was a company-wide first! We couldn’t be more proud. Way to go, Autherine. So happy you work here at Whisper Woods. Congratulations ! 🍾🎉🎊🎈(pictured here with Executive Director, Desiree Krajnyak-Baker)
Fa, la, la, la, la! Residents each received a beautiful black & white cookie today from the bakery. This and their hot cocoa should help them through the snow storm!
Wow! The “Metro Girls” are busy this morning giving gifts & smiles! How lucky are we to have such professional, talented & sweet ladies as our physical therapy team. Thank you, Metro Girls, for all that you do. Happy Holidays 🎄🎉❤️
Today we started our gingerbread houses! Fun! 🎁
Ho, ho, ho! Today it’s hot cocoa gifts for everyone! Getting ready for the big snow storm later this week!
Another activity that’s easy to involve family members via video chat is building gingerbread houses. Put the camera at the end of the table and let the kids build their gingerbread houses while your loved one watches! For more virtual celebration ideas, click below. #CalledtoCare #Holidays2020
https://bit.ly/3aEi2nF
This year, you can make baking a virtual intergenerational activity. Set up your computer right on the kitchen counter and let your loved one walk you through baking cookies, pie and other family recipes. Make sure your speaker is loud enough so you can hear over the mixer! For more virtual celebration ideas, click below. #CalledtoCare #Holidays2020
https://bit.ly/3aEi2nF
Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit more than singing some favorite seasonal songs! This year, consider scheduling a virtual caroling event with family members. Make sure that everyone is using headphones to cut down on the background noise (and to make it easier to mute tone-deaf Aunt Betty!).
For more virtual celebration ideas, click below. #CalledtoCare #Holidays2020
https://bit.ly/3aEi2nF
Today is Decorate an Ornament Day!
Our 1st Annual Resident Ugly Sweater contest was a success! Good time had by all (even if we had to be 6 feet apart & wearing masks)! Congratulations to our winners!
Having a fun New Year holiday!
Starting off the New Year with encouragement! Happy New Year!
Just some of the reasons why we are so ready for the vaccine ❤️.
Congratulations to our Service Champion of the month Candace Clark-Shurman LPN. Thank you, Candace, for your dedication, hard work, professionalism & kindness! You make everyone around you smile.
The Wall Street Journal today put a spotlight on Benchmark Senior Living’s innovative and creative efforts to educate and encourage our associates to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Benchmark Founder, CEO and Chairman Tom Grape was asked for his insights on how to inspire employees to get vaccinated. Read the story below. #CalledtoCare #WSJ
https://bit.ly/2Yev1os
It’s a big day for us! Vaccination clinic has opened!
Happy 90th Birthday, Charlie!! Today’s going to be a great day!
As part of Benchmark Senior Living’s commitment to improve and personalize the resident experience, we are thrilled to be the first senior living provider in the Northeast to implement a digital platform that pinpoints residents’ interests to better match them to community programs and activities, and build relationships with neighbors.
The “Something in Common” program, developed using TSOLife technology, is being launched across all of Benchmark’s 63 communities.
“Creating and enhancing human connections in our communities is at the heart of Benchmark’s mission and something each of our staff members strive to achieve each day. ‘Something in Common’ is a tremendous resource that helps forge cherished relationships between new and longtime residents, as well as staff,” said Tom Grape, Benchmark's founder, Chairman and CEO.
Read more about the program below! #CalledtoCare #TSOLife
https://bit.ly/3t7XpXt
Today, Benchmark CEO Tom Grape received his first COVID-19 vaccine at Cabot Park Village, an Independent Living community in Newton, Mass. Tom waited until all residents and associates throughout Benchmark’s 63 communities had a chance to receive their initial dose before rolling up his own sleeve. Tom and the entire Benchmark team are working hard to promote the importance of getting vaccinated.
Through Town Halls with medical experts, associate and resident videos and daily myth-buster emails, Benchmark is ramping up associate vaccine promotion as the second round of clinics begin. Read more below about our efforts to put an end to this terrible virus. #CalledtoCare
https://bit.ly/2Mu48uj
Happy 101st Birthday, Joyce! We are having such fun celebrating you!
Lionel Porter, a resident at Cabot Park Village, a Benchmark independent living community in Newtonville, MA, has dedicated his life and career to fighting racism. His story was featured last night on Boston 25 News! Learn more below. #BHM
https://bit.ly/3bGTtVZ
Spring is in the air! We are loving our art projects!
Join us at we partner with The Alzheimer's Association to raise awareness of the disease and answer your important questions. Registration now underway for three important workshops. See registration info below.
Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us at Whisper Woods! We are off to a fun start with a Clancy Brothers Concert and have lots more in store. Erin Go Bragh!
At Benchmark, creating meaningful moments with our mind and memory care residents is at the heart of our culture of caring. To celebrate Brain Awareness Week, Michelle Tristani, Corporate Director of Memory Care, outlines proven techniques that help foster meaningful communication with people with dementia. Click below to read more about our award-winning program, Connect First. #BrainAwarenessWeek #CalledtoCare
https://bit.ly/3eHVjsH
Residents were treated to a wonderful Irish Step Dance Performance today by The Ciara Green School of Irish Dance troop. Wonderful!
