Morning Pointe Senior Living is going bigger on memory care, with plans underway to expand those services in three of the company’s communities.
The expansion comes from an increasing need for memory care services within the markets Morning Pointe serves, according to Co-Founder and CEO Franklin Farrow.
The Ooltewah, Tennessee-based company is currently engaged in expanding communities in Danville, Kentucky; and Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee, with projects to add both assisted living and memory care at those communities.
The company is expanding the communities in two phases. In the case of Morning Pointe of Danville, which is currently working on its second phase of development, the company is planning to relocate assisted living residents into a new building once the first has reached a stabilized occupancy level of between 85% and 90%, and then use that as a dedicated wing for memory care.
“We’ll relocate the 45 or so assisted living families or residents, who will occupy the new assisted living building being built next door, and then the space vacated will become an entry-level service model for Alzheimer’s,” Farrow said.
He added: “It’s more about establishing a foothold and stabilization, and then moving on from there.”
The expansions are all expected to complete within the next year, with Danville seeing a September completion, end of 2024 for Knoxville and the end of the first quarter for Chattanooga.
Morning Pointe recently broke 40 communities in five states.
Included in the company’s memory care offerings is a program called Lamplight,which is geared toward people living with the early stages of dementia. The company also has what it dubs the Lantern Program, which is meant for people living with higher memory care needs. Under both programs, residents can benefit from therapy, life enrichment programming, help with wellness and intergenerational activities.
According to a press release from Morning Pointe, there are currently 81,000 Kentuckians aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s, with a growing demand approaching in the coming years.
“We’re just seeing a higher level of incidents and people are needing more services,” Farrow said. “When we hear of those services, we go do an independent feasibility study just to verify that the agent and demographics are supportive in that market.”
