Welcome to Exemplar, the Benchmark company newsletter. Enjoy, and please contact our staff with any questions, Courtney Heiser, Chief Culture Officer or Sarah Chestnut, Director of Development Strategies. Welcome to Exemplar! By Doug Beebe, Benchmark CEO Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) was formed in 1960 in Fort Wayne, IN. Since its inception, Benchmark has been focused […] Read More
Holiday Cookie Recipes The leadership of Benchmark Human Services is thrilled to share their favorite cookie recipes for the winter season. Happy Holidays and Merry Baking! Doug’s Scotch Shortbread From Doug Beebe, Benchmark President “I’ll always go back for seconds on these cookies… maybe thirds.” Ingredients 1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened 1/4 C Powdered […] Read More
Please read the letter linked below from Governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb about a new federal grant and how it will affect individuals served by our industrial programs, AWRC Industries, Highway Safety Specialists, and others. “The Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Services Bureau of Rehabilitation Services is pleased to share that its application for the […] Read More
The Delicate Balance between Helping and Fixing: Paving a Path of Independence By Brad Max, M.S., Alabama Project Director Most of us enter this field out of a sense of passion and desire to make the world a better place, to help others, or other genuine sentiments. With the most noble of intentions, we set […] Read More
What’s Your NPS? This article was originally published in the Open Minds Daily Executive Briefing on 06/01/22. www.openminds.com By Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS Like all executives, I’m always looking for benchmarks of ‘how we are doing’ compared to other organizations. The most common organizational performance measure have been financial—margin, cash […] Read More
Mental Health Matters: May is Mental Health Awareness Month By Lori Graham, LCSW, Director, Arkansas Mental Health Awareness month, observed in the United States during the month of May, is an opportunity to acknowledge the importance of mental health care and treatment on overall health and wellness. First recognized in 1949 by the Mental Health […] Read More
Happy Nurses Week! A Tribute to Benchmark Human Services and HomePointe HealthCare Nurses Kim Galaviz RN, BSN, MPM Chief Nursing Officer In 1994, the American Nurses Association first sponsored and promoted National Nurses Week – a week designated each May to highlight and celebrate the crucial contributions that nurses make to the communities and people […] Read More
How the World Has Changed for People with Disabilities: As he approaches his June retirement, former Benchmark CEO and current Senior Business Adviser, Bill Swiss, reflects on how the world has changed for people with disabilities throughout his career — and what comes next. When I arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the spring of […] Read More
Mentoring Women in Leadership Karen Shollenberger Benchmark Vice President Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) has a rich history of women in leadership roles. Health and Human Services, and particularly the Intellectual/Developmental Disability industry, has been female-dominated for decades and decades. Recently that has changed as pay has increased along with the growing recognition of the complexity […] Read More
Serving Children with Complex Care Needs and the Positive Effect of Home Health Support through COVID-19 By Amanda Musser, RN HomePointe HealthCare Administrator To say that 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge is an understatement. As a whole, the healthcare industry has had to make frequent and significant changes in the way care is […] Read More
A Successful Behavior Intervention Model By Dr. John M. Guercio, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, CBIST Clinical Director Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) began providing residential services in the state of Missouri in 2007. The upstart was a slow and measured one and in the summer of 2010, Benchmark served about 10 individuals in the state. Many of […] Read More
The Basics of Autism and ABA Services By AJ Beyrer, Ph.D., LCSW, LBA, BCBA-D With an increase in mental health awareness, autism spectrum disorder or ASD has become more known in recent years. Characterized by skill deficits in language, communication, socialization, and behavior, ASD affects about 1 in 54 children according to the Center for […] Read More
DSP Week Celebrates Often Unrecognized Front Line Heroes By Doug Beebe, President/CEO, Benchmark Human Services In March 2020, the world changed in unimaginable ways. Between school closures and lock downs, PPE shortages and adjusting to a new way of life, COVID-19 had people everywhere scrambling to understand our new reality. Throughout the early days of […] Read More
Programs Offer Better Alternatives to Individuals in Crisis By George Harris, Benchmark Director, Georgia Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) has been delivering crisis services in Georgia since 2011, but the Benchmark’s crisis roots go back 15 years to when the company ran a state-wide crisis intervention program in Indiana. Over the last decade and a half, […] Read More
Leveraging Automation to Create Job Opportunities By Jeff Harris, Vice President, Operations When I began my career at Benchmark nearly 15 years ago our industrial organization operated out of three Indiana locations with three main lines of business. Since then, in support of our mission to provide employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, our team […] Read More
Ft. Wayne, IN and Maplewood, NJ—Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) and StationMD have launched a partnership to ensure all of Benchmark’s Indiana clients have 24/7 access to a doctor anytime they need. Benchmark provides residential and community-based services to people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and StationMD is a physician practice that uses telemedicine […] Read More
Preserving Employment for People with Disabilities during COVID-19 By: David Ross, Benchmark Vice President Over the last decade, Benchmark has helped thousands of individuals with disabilities find and keep meaningful work. Having meaningful work is powerful and this is just as true for a person who happens to have a disability as it is for […] Read More
Independence. Inclusion. Potential. New Blog to Feature Hallmarks of Service Delivery Doug Beebe, CEO, Benchmark Human Services When 2020 started, I was excited to celebrate Benchmark Human Services’ 60th Anniversary. Since its founding in 1960, Benchmark and its associated organizations, Anthony Wayne Rehabilitation Services and the AWS Foundation, have strived to be on the forefront […] Read More
Behavioral Healthcare is Healthcare By: Nikki Ford, LCSW/LICSW October 23, 2019 Each year at least 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youth in the U.S. experience a diagnosable mental health condition. In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people age 10-34. (1) The prevalence is even higher when including […] Read More
David Ross, Benchmark Vice President, authored these 13 expressed values of a great direct support professional. A great direct support professional: Recognizes that the individuals we serve are people with whom we have more in common than we have differences. People have the fundamental right to choose for themselves, to try new things, and to […] Read More
Benchmark’s President of Residential Services, Doug Beebe’s commentary on National DSP Week was featured in Vineland, NJ newspaper The Daily Journal. Print Excerpt: The role of the direct support professional is both rewarding and challenging. While it is not a job for everyone, it is a job that connects people to people in a very […] Read More
Benchmark Human Services, an organization which provides services to people with mental illness and developmental disabilities throughout the United States, held its first annual recovery celebrations in Georgia last month. Celebrations were held in Augusta, Georgia on June 13 and in Athens on June 20. These events celebrate mental health and substance abuse recovery. The […] Read More
