The Morning Pointe of East Hamilton campus will not only offer a new building in early 2025; it will also offer a new service of early-stage memory care to serve the growing needs of the community.
The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, East Hamilton, located at 1775 Generations Way, will offer two levels of care under one roof.
The homelike Lamplight wing will serve residents in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It will feature an expansive yet secure environment to serve as a more active area for residents who are still able to engage in more lively activities. This provides appropriate brain stimulation to help residents live more fulfilling lives with their condition.
Beth Janney, RN, director of memory care for Morning Pointe Senior Living, pointed out that individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s or other dementias tend to isolate rather than continue to engage in the socialization and activities they enjoy. “We provide residents with a safe environment for being themselves wherever they are cognitively,” Janney shared. “They absolutely blossom, and they start living life again.”
The Lantern wing will offer care for more advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementias – the same level the current Morning Pointe of East Hamilton Assisted Living and Memory Care offers on its memory care wing. The Lantern wing is a smaller, more intimate space designed to be calming for residents who may be more easily overstimulated.
The Wider Memory Care Vision
With both levels of care in the same community, residents who start out in the Lamplight wing are able to smoothly transition to the Lantern wing as their condition progresses, with less stress on them or their families. Memory care programming will include the Best Friends™ Approach, Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach™ to Care, Meaningful Day™ purposeful programming, music therapy, art therapy and cuddle therapy.
The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, East Hamilton will be the 42nd Morning Pointe Senior Living community and the 25th in Tennessee. The current Morning Pointe of East Hamilton Assisted Living and Memory Care will transition to an assisted-living only community once The Lantern opens. Together, they will offer a continuum of care for seniors in the growing East Hamilton area.
Greg A. Vital, Morning Pointe Senior Living co-founder and president, shared: “We are seeing an increased need for memory care services, especially for early memory care, and with this expansion in East Hamilton County, Morning Pointe is rising to meet that need, committing to serving more residents and families and supporting them on their journey with Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Campus Services
Services and amenities at both Morning Pointe of East Hamilton communities will include:
- Licensed nurses providing oversight of health, wellness, and medication management
- Single-level living
- Licensed, clinical, and care staff available 24 hours a day
- 24-hour personalized care services
- Medication assistance and reminders
- Periodic check-ins
- Personal grooming assistance, such as bathing or getting dressed
- Assistance with transferring to a bed or chair
- Escorting to meals and events
- Incontinence management
- On-site occupational, physical, and speech therapy
Programming campuswide will include a variety of life enrichment such as arts and crafts, wellness offerings such as exercise classes, and intergenerational activities, such as partnering with local schools. Residents will also benefit from Morning Pointe’s Farm to Table program with local, farm-fresh and seasonal ingredients.
Founded in 1997, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five southeastern states. The company is based in Hamilton County. Other communities in the county are located in Chattanooga, Collegedale, and Hixson.
The new The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, East Hamilton will create approximately 60 permanent healthcare positions and is estimated to have a positive economic impact of more than $25 million annually, considering payroll, property taxes and local purchase of goods and services.
The philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living is the Morning Pointe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to provide nursing scholarships and caregiver support.
