In June 2024, the state of Kentucky changed its regulations for senior care communities, and Morning Pointe Senior Living personal care communities in the state are now all considered Assisted Living.
When Morning Pointe Senior Living started operating in Kentucky 20 years ago, the company wanted to offer the highest level of senior services possible. It decided to go through the Certificate of Need process with the Kentucky Office of Inspector General to be licensed as Personal Care communities. At the time, assisted living designated services were limited in the scope of services that could be offered. Now, with the recent regulation changes in Kentucky, Morning Pointe will still continue to offer the same level of care.
New Kentucky Assisted Living Regulations
The new regulations have renamed all senior living providers as Assisted Living. However, different levels of care exist within the category, including ALC-Social, ALC-Basic Health, and ALC-Dementia Care. Morning Pointe Senior Living operates 11 communities in Kentucky. Each community is in either the Basic Health or the Dementia Care category of assisted living, offering more comprehensive senior services than the Social designation.
For Morning Pointe residents and families, services have not changed.
Essential services at Morning Pointe Senior Living communities continue to include:
- Coordination of on-site medical and therapy services
- Regular nurse assessments to meet residents’ needs
- Licensed nurses and certified staff administering medications
- Trained professionals performing nursing and therapeutic tasks
- Menus reviewed and approved by a dietician or nutritionist
- Comprehensive policies for CPR and emergency training
Exact services and amenities pending final regulatory approval at each community.
“The consumer needs to make sure the assisted living level they choose for their family member is able to meet their needs and that it is providing the type of services they want,” said Bebe Kennedy, RN, Morning Pointe Senior Living’s vice president of clinical services. “Even though the Basic Health model sounds like it’s basic, what it’s actually allowing is basic health services to be provided, so they will have nurses on staff, they will have certified medication aides on staff that will assist with medication management and delivery. Their care is going to be done by licensed individuals, whereas, in the Social model, it may not be done by licensed individuals.”
Among the differences in care levels in the new Kentucky regulations, ALC-Social communities do not require regular nurse assessments, while ALC-Basic Health and ALC-Dementia Care communities do. ALC-Social communities cannot arrange on-site providers for medical services like primary care, mental health services, physical therapy, or hospice, although residents may arrange these services for themselves. In contrast, ALC-Basic Health and ALC-Dementia Care communities are required to provide and coordinate care services, including arranging these on-site providers. ALC-Social community staff can only assist residents with taking their own medications, rather than in ALC Basic Health and ALC-Dementia Care communities, where licensed nurses and certified medication aides can administer medications.
More about Morning Pointe
Morning Pointe Senior Living communities have been offering this comprehensive level of care since well before the new Kentucky regulations took effect. Founded in 1997 by healthcare entrepreneurs Greg A. Vital and Franklin Farrow, the company has more than 27 years of experience in senior care. Overall, the company owns and operates 38 assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five Southeastern states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia and Alabama.
Morning Pointe Senior Living will be opening another Kentucky community this fall: Morning Pointe of Danville Assisted Living. This community is Phase II of the Morning Pointe of Danville campus; upon its opening, the original building will become an all-memory care community, The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, Danville.
Morning Pointe Senior Living assisted living communities are able to help residents manage a variety of common chronic illnesses, including diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, early-stage dementia and mild cognitive impairments, heart disease, hypertension, frequent UTIs, depression, arthritis, osteoporosis and more.
For more information on the new assisted living levels in Kentucky, visit morningpointe.com/ky-assisted-living-care-levels/ or kentuckyseniorliving.org/assisted-living-requirements/.
Contact your local Morning Pointe Senior Living community for more specific information about the services and amenities it offers.
