"In 1986, the concept of assisted living communities was a novel one. That was the year when Clifford Hughes, together with a colleague, opened the second assisted living facility in the country, The John Bertrum House, in Salem MA. As there were no other assisted living facilities in the state, nor licensing or certification regulations at the time, Cliff was called to be part of the team that formulated assisted living legislation in Massachusetts. Cliff and his partner went on to develop and administer several additional assisted living communities in Essex County Massachusetts, merging their organization with Sunrise Senior Living communities in 1994. Cliff left the Sunrise Senior Living organization in 1997 to design, build and, in 1999, operate Orchard Hill Assisted Living in Sudbury."