Life Care Hixson opening in 2011

The Chattanooga area's fourth Life Care Center is scheduled to open early next year, adding to a budding senior care development in Hixson.

Life Care Center of Hixson is part of Greenbriar Cove, which will include the 75,000-square-foot facility and already-open Morning Pointe Assisted Living. A later phase of the development - called Garden Plaza - will add an independent living facility on the lot adjacent to the Life Care Center.

"This will cover any of the needs of the senior community," said Vicki Hood, divisional director of sales and marketing for Cleveland, Tenn.-based Life Care Centers of America, adding that construction has not yet begun on that part of the development.

The 108-bed facility that will open in 2011 is just about finished with construction and is now receiving the finishing touches, said the center's executive director, Wallace Stutts.

"When our design team gets in and does the finishing touches, it will feel like home," he said.

Life Care has a network of more than 200 nursing home facilities from Maine to Hawaii, said Rob Alderman, company spokesman.

"A lot of demographic work goes into this," he said. "There's a need here we're able to fill, and Hixson is an absolutely great spot, because it's nice and relatively calm ... You couldn't pick a better location."

Since the facility is practically in Hixson Middle School's backyard, Alderman said the management team looks forward to opportunities for Life Care residents to have "a lot of youthful interaction."

The Hixson center's focus will be to provide its residents with short-term rehabilitation following an accident, sudden illness or emergency surgery, Stutts said. He said the staff will be trained in rehabilitating knees, hips, backs, speech and other health issues.

Hood said although the facility is not complete, Life Care is already taking inquiries and people who are interested in its services can schedule a tour.

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