Ooltewah-based Morning Pointe Senior Living will soon move the first residents into a new facility dedicated to Alzheimer’s and dementia care off East Brainerd Road.
The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, East Hamilton, will be the company’s 42nd senior living facility. It will create around 60 permanent health care jobs once it opens at 1775 Generations Way, next door to Morning Pointe of East Hamilton, an assisted living facility built in 2019.
The company broke ground on the center in March 2024 with an expected $15 million investment. While Morning Pointe of East Hamilton has a memory care wing, its new neighbor will focus fully on memory care.
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“This building is more than walls – it’s a promise of comfort, dignity and personalized care for our future residents,” said Lindsey Hughes, executive director of the new facility, in a news release. “The families who have toured so far have felt the warmth, and that’s exactly what we will offer–peace of mind and a place that feels like home.”
Morning Pointe will soon announce a grand opening date for the new facility. It announced it was preparing to receive residents at the East Hamilton memory care community on Thursday, the same day it opened a similar facility in Knoxville.
The Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence will include 6o apartments with two levels of memory care: Lamplight for residents with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia who are more active and Lantern for residents in more advanced stages.
Services at the facility will include 24-hour personalized care, licensed nurses providing oversight, personal grooming assistance and a range of on-site therapies.
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“They have been so accommodating and caring and efficient,” said Kim Lepard, whose father is preparing to move from Morning Pointe of East Hamilton to the new memory care community, in a news release. “My dad is very happy there. He thinks he’s at a resort. He does not stay in his room as much, and he engages more in activities.”
Independent Healthcare Properties, doing business as Morning Pointe, was founded in 1997 by health care entrepreneurs Greg Vital and J. Franklin Farrow. Vital, who represents District 29 as a Republican in the Tennessee House of Representatives, serves as president. Farrow serves as CEO.
The company operates assisted living and memory care facilities in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. It operates 14 fully memory-care facilities, including two others in the Chattanooga area, in Collegedale and off Shallowford Road.
Contact Daniel Dassow at ddassow@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.
