In 1996 when Greg Vital was 39 years old and Franklin Farrow was 26 years old, the former LifeCare of America managers decided to start their own business to develop and build the facilities for other companies to operate.
While the Cleveland-based Life Care was focused on skilled nursing, Vital and Farrow saw a new opportunity. They started out with the initial goal of constructing six buildings for other senior care operators. By 2002, Independent Healthcare Properties had built 12 buildings and Vital and Farrow decided to sell those structures and start their own senior care business known as Morning Pointe.
“We saw an opportunity if we focused on providing exceptional care in excellent facilities that provided hospitality and medical services wrapped in one,” Vital said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Cambridge Square in Ooltewah.
Over the past quarter-century, Morning Pointe has grown to include 36 facilities in five states and the company will soon add another location in Knoxville. As one of the top regional providers of assisted living care, Morning Pointe has grown to offer homes and care for more than 1,600 residents with its 1,500 employees.
Vital and Farrow formed Morning Pointe Senior Living as the budding assisted living center industry took hold for those needing home care and help with some medical or mental challenges but not in need of skilled nursing home care.