Benchmark Senior Living Honors Women Who Set the Standard Across Generations

Above, Benchmark Senior Living at Forge Hill, in Franklin.

In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Benchmark Senior Living is celebrating the women who embody its core values of Called to Care, Better Together and Be the Benchmark. Across Benchmark’s 70 Northeast independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, women residents, including one in Franklin, who broke barriers and women associates who lead with compassion have helped shape a culture rooted in excellence, purpose and connection.

For decades, women have raised the standard in their professions, families and communities. Today, more than 10,000 women across Benchmark continue that legacy — as residents whose life stories inspire those around them and as caregivers who transform lives daily.

“Benchmark is powered by the thousands of women who comprise the majority of both our employee and resident population. Our communities are truly better because of the women who bring strength, heart and compassion to our purpose of transforming lives through human connection,” said Tom Grape, founder, chairman and CEO of Benchmark Senior Living.

Throughout March, communities are honoring the women who call Benchmark home and the associates who care for them. Displays highlighting stories of strength, wisdom and leadership are on view in communities, alongside educational and lifelong learning programs devoted to women’s history. At The Village at Mariner’s Point in East Haven, Conn., residents are participating in programs such as Inspirational Women Throughout History and Audrey Hepburn Remembered, as well as enjoying live music celebrating female artists and empowerment.

Among the women being honored are residents whose determination and courage changed the course of their own lives — and often the lives of others.

Ann McLaughlin, a resident at Benchmark at Bedford Falls in Bedford, N.H., opened a medical clinic in Colombia in 1965 while serving in the Peace Corps — a clinic that remains in operation today. Despite once being shot at while spreading word of the clinic, she persevered in her mission to expand access to care.

Molly June Foster, a resident at Benchmark Senior Living at Forge Hill in Franklin, Mass., also dedicated her life to serving underserved populations. A native of England, she traveled to Canada to care for Indigenous communities and later to Texas to treat burn victims as a nurse.

Other residents overcame extraordinary hardship to build new beginnings. Maria Balogh, a resident at The Village at Willow Crossings in Mansfield, Mass., survived the Holocaust in Hungary, losing her father and leaving school in the eighth grade to help support her family. After narrowly escaping Soviet checkpoints in 1957, she was airlifted to safety in the United States. Determined to build a better future, she learned English and saved diligently to put her daughter through Villanova University.

Benchmark is New England’s largest senior living provider with 70 independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care communities and over 7,200 dedicated associates providing compassionate care and outstanding experiences throughout the Northeast.