A week after an EF-3 tornado swept through the Chattanooga, TN, area, Morning Pointe Senior Living announced it has closed two tornado-damaged properties for the foreseeable future as they are rebuilt.
Morning Pointe of Chattanooga at Shallowford and The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence Chattanooga were deemed uninhabitable following the Easter night tornado. No deaths or major injuries were reported at either facility. Reconstruction is expected to take four to six months.
Independent Healthcare Properties LLC, a Chattanooga-based senior healthcare services company that is the developer, owner and manager of the two properties, is working to relocate its 130 residents to other Morning Pointe sites, local competitor facilities or into the care of their families, Will Brewer, vice president of corporate communications, told McKnight’s Senior Living. Residents initially were moved to two local hotels following the tornado, with staff implementing the same COVID-19 social distancing and safety guidelines as before the tornado.
About 100 employees from both campuses are being offered positions at other Morning Pointe locations in the area.
“Words cannot describe the damage and destruction,” Morning Pointe Senior Living President Greg A. Vital said. “I saw our staff performing as heroes as they mobilized and safely evacuated all 130-plus residents of Morning Pointe and The Lantern.”
The company organized a tornado disaster relief drive to collect basic necessities for residents who were evacuated with little more than what they were wearing.
