Work continues at Morning Pointe's newest location off of Shallowford Road which will open soon.
John Davis works on landscaping at Morning Pointe.
A large mural highlights the history of the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Greg Vital, CEO & president of Independent Healthcare Properties, shows off one of the Morning Pointe units.
Work continues at Morning Pointe's newest location off of Shallowford Road which will open soon.About the company• Name: Independent Healthcare Properties• Brand: Morning Pointe assisted living centers and The Lantern Alzheimer's Centers of Excellence• Facilities: 24• Annual billings: About $50 million• Staff: 1,200 employees• Quote: "We've tried to take the best in our industry and put our hand print on it. It's not just a place to come and get old. It's a place to come and live."- Greg Vital, company president
Every day, 10,000 more Americans turn 65 years old.
Chattanooga businessman Greg Vital is trying to serve America's graying population with new alternatives for housing and assistance across a five-state region.
"That's what we're positioning this company for, giving people options and choices within their own community," he said.
Vital's company, Independent Healthcare Properties, started construction this summer on two new Morning Pointe assisted living campuses -- one in Franklin, Tenn., and another in Louisville, Ky. Within the next month or so, a new Morning Pointe assisted living facility will open in Chattanooga off Shallowford Road.
Vital said the new sites, along with more on the drawing board, will soon give the company some 30 facilities in five states. That's about 25 percent more than currently.
"We've tried to take the best in our industry and put our handprint on it," he said. "It's not just a place to come and get old. It's a place to come and live."
Vital said costs at Morning Pointe sites start at about $3,500 a month. That includes room and board, and there are then added costs related to levels of care, Vital said.
The company has $50 million in annual billings and nearly 1,200 employees.
IHP, headquartered in Ooltewah, started in 1996 with what Vital believed was an ambitious goal of building and leasing a half dozen assisted living and senior centers. Less than two decades later, the company has far exceeded its original target.
"Health care is a regional service," Vital said. "We're concentrating on the region in which we can best reflect our culture of care and service. There is plenty of opportunity for folks who want to stay in this footprint that we can be of service to."
The company has focused its growth along the Interstate-75 and Interstate-65 corridors.
"We continue building on 17-plus years," Vital said, adding that IHP is growing its Morning Pointe brand. "At the same time, we're building a better workforce ... to better service the community through internal growth and hiring new people."
The Shallowford Road project, costing about $13 million, will offer about 77 assisted living apartments. Residents of the Morning Pointe facility across Shallowford Road will relocate into the new facility this fall.
Holly Metcalf, the site's executive director, said Morning Pointe is having a lot of response for its new units.
"They're filling up quickly," she said about the location that will offer a library, salon, physical therapy room and restaurant-style dining in a central area.
Vital said the new 62,000-square-foot facility has a lot of aesthetics built in, including large wall murals of the Chattanooga Choo Choo and Walnut Street Bridge, as examples of how the company tries to work an area's history into its locations. It also will feature a working model railroad train, he said.
"Even with the aesthetics, it's a living, breathing health care facility," Vital said, noting residents and families count on the staff to provide needed services.
Once residents of the existing building have moved, renovations to that building will turn it into The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Center of Excellence. The center will feature 57 units. Vital said its grand reopening will take place in early 2015.
Last month, Morning Pointe announced construction of the $25 million two-phase senior campus in Franklin that's expected to create about 125 jobs when the first phase is finished in early 2016..
Located on 10 acres, it will offer both assisted living and Alzheimer's memory care services and a variety of respite and therapy services.
The initial craftsman-style building will have 73 apartments, according to Morning Pointe. Amenities will include dining areas, life enrichment programs and professional health and wellness services. Some 20 of the apartments will be a secure wing dedicated to the care of residents with Alzheimer's and other forms of memory care needs.
The second phase will construct a Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Center of Excellence with 44 apartments. Upon completion, The Lantern wing will be converted to assisted living apartments.
Vital said IHP already has Middle Tennessee locations in Brentwood and Columbia, and officials saw a need in Franklin as well.
"It will help us provide broad services in Williamson County," Vital said, noting it's the state's fastest growing county and a place where a lot of people are retiring.
In addition, work has begun on the Louisville facility, another $25 million investment that will create 125 jobs. The new senior living and Alzheimer's memory care community will feature two craftsman-style buildings with 120 apartments, according to IHP.
Also a two-phase project, it will feature 53 senior living/personal care apartments and an additional 20 apartments will be in The Lantern wing. The campus will provide 44 apartments in a freestanding Alzheimer's Center of Excellence.
Vital said that while Morning Pointe's history of service in Kentucky began 15 years ago, the Louisville facility will be the company's first foray in Central Kentucky. Morning Pointe currently has seven other locations in Kentucky.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.