Franklin Farrow and Greg Vital, co-founders of Morning Pointe Senior Living, received a call from a former acquaintance, who was within the assisted living facility industry, and mentioned finding “one of their buildings” in Owensboro.
“He said he’d found one of the buildings ‘kind of like the ones you bought years ago, and built your company on,’ ” said Farrow, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Owensboro Morning Pointe Assisted Living facility, 3362 Buckland Square, the former home of A Place for Mom and Heritage Park assisted living facilities.
Farrow said that the description of the property, “having been built in the early 2000s,” was the same type of layout and construction that he and his business partner, Vital, acquired when setting out to accomplish the business plan of the Morning Pointe Assisted Living Facility.
The newly renovated facility, which received all new furnishings, lighting, artwork, a functional nurses station and major system upgrades as part of a $2.5 million renovation project, contains 66 assisted living apartments, all located on one level. Officials expect the facility to provide around 40 to 50 jobs for members of the Owensboro community.
The Morning Pointe chain of assisted living facilities consists of 43 locations throughout the southern United States, including 12 in the state of Kentucky, said Vital on Thursday during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“So, we’re pretty excited about expanding our service here,” Vital said.
“On behalf of the citizens of Owensboro, all of our employees, all of our retirees and all of our elected officials, we’d like to welcome you here,” said Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson. “I’m 75 years old and it’s nice to realize that I could end up in some really nice place like this.”
Farrow said that July of 2024 marked a “major milestone” in Kentucky’s regulations concerning assisted living care for seniors within the state.
“They (Kentucky lawmakers) have been working several years on revamping the way healthcare and senior living is provided in Kentucky. And we were fortunate to be a part of learning that process,” he said. “We are happy to be up and running under the highest level of regulations in the state.”
Some of the facility’s expanded services include licensed nurses, clinical or care staff on site at all times, regular nurse assessments to meet changing care needs, medication administration by licensed professionals, on-site coordination of physical, occupational and speech therapy, menus reviewed by a licensed dietician or nutritionist and CPR and emergency response training protocols.
According to Morning Pointe Senior Living’s ceremony program, “the community now features an on-site therapy area and a resident transportation bus — both first time offerings-designed to enhance access to medical appointments and local outings.”
Daviess County Commissioner Larry Conder joked that he thought his wife, Rosemary, was wanting him to attend the ribbon-cutting as a way to “pick out a room.”
“But I do see in the program, and even in an assisted living community, sometimes what we may want to remember is that it’s bigger than assisted living. It is actually an assistance of life,” Conder said. “The services that you provide, all the programming, is absolutely awesome. Those represent true assistance of life. And for that, the people of Owensboro say thank you to the staff, and especially those that have made everything, everyone’s life, livable and worthwhile.”
Claude Bacon, the president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, said that Morning Pointe is “more than just senior living.”
“(Morning Pointe) is a local economic driver. This renovation investment provided construction dollars. It brought dozens of stable jobs … and partnerships with local suppliers to keep money circulating right here in Owensboro,” Bacon said. “Families visiting residents spend the night in our hotels. They visit our restaurants. They visit our shops, and, of course, that boosts local business. By keeping seniors close to home, you help working-age adults stay in the workforce, which strengthens Owensboro’s economy and makes our community more attractive for future growth, and, for that, we thank you.”
Candace Castlen Brake, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, thanked Morning Pointe for investing in the Owensboro community and becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
“I also want to thank the employees for the compassionate care you give to some of our most cherished citizens,” said Brake. “But I also want to take a moment to recognize the service that these residents have provided to our community. Thank you so much. You helped build Owensboro and helped build our region … I’m just thrilled to be here today to honor each of you and the employees of Morning Pointe.”
Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony added the Owensboro area to the list of 12 cities that are already served by Morning Pointe Assisted Living, including Russell, Richmond, Lexington, Danville, Frankfort and Louisville
By Michele Lohman Messenger- Inquirer