Benchmark Revamps Memory Care Programming With Montessori Methods, Eye On Reducing Medications

Benchmark Senior Living is emphasizing personal connection and supporting more nonpharmacological interventions in memory care through new programming and engagement.

The Waltham, Massachusetts-based provider operates 68 communities with dedicated memory care neighborhoods, along with 11 standalone memory care properties. Benchmark Senior Living’s leaders are growing the company’s memory care program, known as Mind and Memory, in 2026 through the addition of a new mentorship program for memory care directors and increased training, Michelle Tristani, director of memory care training and innovation, told Senior Housing News.

Benchmark Senior Living this year is also adapting Montessori principles in its memory care programming and creating a more structured environment with meaningful activities, according to Michael Tubbs, senior director of lifestyle engagement for the company.

Through the program, Benchmark’s leaders aim to enhance residents’ quality of life using personalized care and the integration of Montessori principles that foster independence, curiosity and respect.

Memory care operations today are more complex, with residents coming into memory care communities with higher acuity needs, and Tubbs said that while technology is promising for improving memory care operations, it isn’t the entire solution.

“We’re still focused on that human connection and that transformation through those meaningful relationships that the residents build with each other, the associates and other residents,” Tubbs said.

Today, memory care staff in Benchmark communities look “very strategically” at managing resident behaviors, which sometimes occur when residents’ needs aren’t being met or they are not engaged. Tubbs said it’s important for staff to intervene without the need for medication. In doing so the company is addressing environmental factors that could have caused a resident to express their emotions in a negative way with medication interventions as a last resort.

To better support staff, Benchmark launched a mentorship program for memory care directors as the company has grown from being a New England-based operator to managing communities from Virginia to Vermont.

As the company grows, Tubbs said Benchmark has also expanded its regional support team for the Mind and Memory program while increasing dementia-specific training opportunities for staff. The company brought on three workforce training specialists to standardize and build out training programs. Alongside the mentorship program, Tristani sees opportunities to improve memory care operations and help staff feel more confident when interacting with older adults living in memory care.

“The Mind and Memory Mentor Program is part of our standardization as we grow. We want to make sure what’s happening in Vermont is also happening in Virginia,” Tristani said.

The culmination of these efforts will help build out a “prepared, organized and strategically thought out environment” for memory care residents living in Benchmark communities. Flexibility in programming is a key part of this change, with residents able to participate in alternative activities. For example, if a resident doesn’t want to exercise, they could participate in a painting class.

This flexibility is being added to allow residents to have open access to materials and activity spaces beyond what’s available on an activity calendar, coupled with clear visual signage to guide residents on where to go and how to engage.

These efforts are part of a broader push to adopt nonpharmacological interventions, using the physical environment itself as a therapeutic tool. By adapting spaces to residents’ needs and interests, Benchmark aims to help people living with dementia experience more successful, positive days without relying on medication as the first intervention, Tubbs said.

This helps create an environment where strengths-based programming is possible, helping residents and staff connect emotionally, which results in better satisfaction from staff and resident families, Tristani said. This also means allowing residents to participate in “cherished roles,” calling back to past careers or hobbies they had prior to moving in, Tubbs added.

“We want to find ways to give control back to them, and this is just one of the ways that we’re looking at doing that,” Tubbs said.

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