On today's show well feature two nonprofits making a lasting impac on the health of our community.

One focuses on area caregivers and another provides resources to cancer patients and their families.

We're stronger together, Chattanooga.

Stay tuned to learn more.

[upbeat music] Welcome to Chattanooga: Stronger Together.

I'm Barbara Marter.

Miranda Perez, executive director of the Morning Pointe Foundation is with us.

This organization is focused on improving the quality of life for caregivers and their families.

Miranda, thank you so much for joining me today.

Oh, well thank you for having me.

So let's talk about what is the purpose of Morning Pointe Foundation.

Our mission is just so amazing.

We are here to strengthe the care of senior caregivers, and also advance the care for senior caregivers in the future, in generations to come.

So, our baby boomers are aging out.

Yes.

And so I think by 2030.

We're going to have about 73 million.

Yeah.

And that are going to need someb Where do we find these people at?

Well you know and you hear 2030 and you don't think you think that's so far away.

But that's only five years ago.

Yeah.

When you see 20, 30, they're like, oh gosh, that's like way in the future.

But that's only five years.

You're so right.

And so the point of having it, our mission of advancing the care and the delivery of senior caregiving is that's why it's so important, because where are 73 million baby boomers going to go?

So that's where this independent living and senior livin is going to be at the most need.

Right.

So independent living is you have your own little apartment and everything, but you go to a cafeteria or lunchroom or whatever for your three meals.

And then your social activities and stuff like that.

But you still need maybe you are on some medication, and so you need someone to kind of oversee that, make sure you're taking it and making sure that, you know if you're getting a little woozy and you might fall or something.

So you're independent, bu you still have that oversight.

I, I'm not too familiar with The Independent and the difference between I know what Morning Pointe senior living offers.

Okay.

But I do know that the next it goes independent.

And then when you need more assistance to youd go to assisted.

Yeah.

So with what morning point senior living offers is there' like a chef in every building.

There is what I refer to as a cruise boat director that plans.

All the activities.

Yes, yes.

So that way that seniors are living, they're not just existing and that they are fulfilling and living their best life.

And so the foundatio then is the arm that comes out and comes along and says, all right, where do we find how do we find the caregivers that we're going to need to take care of this growing population?

But not only caregivers, your scholarships will also culinary.

I believe you were talking about some of the others.

It jus doesn't have to be an LPN or RN or something like that.

What are some of the other scholarships that you could give?

So that's one of the reasons why I love what I do and what Morning Point offers, just not to the senior living community but to the community at a whole.

So the owners, Greg Vital and Franklin Farrow, they started the Morning Pointe Foundation over 11 years ago, which is the nonprofit arm under Morning Pointe Senior Living.

Okay.

They're huge philanthropists anyways.

But going into senior living, the first thing that we need in every building are nurses.

And that who would have ever imagined that our world would come to a worl pandemic five years ago, right?

And after that, the shortage of nurses became at an all time high.

We have not recovered from a nursing shortage.

The world needs 13 million nurses.

And what you're talking abou by the fact that in five years, we're going to have 73 million baby boomers that are going to need senior care.

So what do we do?

We're part of that solution.

The Morning Point Foundation has given out over 150 nursing scholarships.

So when you think about over 150 scholarships, and if one a nurse, one nurse go works at a hospital, they touch an average of 1000 lives per year.

So when you look at the past ten years of the existence of the Morning Point Foundation, we have 150 scholarship recipients and they touch 1000 lives a year.

That means that the Morning Point Foundation has, like single handedly has contributed to over a million lives.

And it's just all because we know that there is a need and we need to be part of a solution.

So the Morning Point Foundation, we do give nursing scholarships, but also when you're talking about our mission of wantin to strengthen the care of senior caregiving that involves occupational therapy.

So now we give scholarships for occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work and culinary because foo I mean, who doesn't love food?

I mean, that's like three things I look forward to a day.

Right.

And so when you talk about culinary, it's those chefs that are in there that are preparing the meal that are nutritional.

Exactly.

And sustainable for because not everyone is going to have the same dietary restrictions or can eat the same thing.

So maybe having some catering going on and stuff.

But but that chef, as we will refer to them, actually has to know what kin of foods and how to prepare them and the nutritional value and everything.

So I can see where the, the culinary comes and then the occupational therapy and everything.

So some people will go in and maybe they're only there for like a hundred days or whatever, but they've got to have maybe a leg surgery or something like that.

And so they're going to have to go into some strength training or, you know, to build up that strength.

So eventually they can walk out and not be in a wheelchair or whatever.

So not just the nurses that are taking care of them, but all the hands, different hands that touch them, you know, so there's CNAs, there's, LPNs there's the RNs, it takes a whole village.

Really does take a village.

And knowing that it takes a village, not only has the Morning Point Foundation provided 150 scholarships, but we are now giving grants for CNA programs.

And I love how public educatio has embraced the need of CNAs.

So now some high school students ca graduate with their CNA license.

And that now that there's trades being offered in public education.

And so I love that.

And so we are giving grants.

My board is now agreein to give grants to CNA programs.

And because we need them we need them all.

you know, you're opening up my understanding better of all of the different needs that are there.

And I love that you and your board are now forward thinking and going.

It's not just the health care the caregivers that we need, but it's all the others that we need that can come along.

And I love the fact that you've now addressed the CNAs you know, because they do a lot of the grunt work.

They're there while the nurses and everything are really hittin some of those more top priority, and they can't get to every or the pat- every patient than the CNAs can come along and build those relationships and work with them and everything like that.

So I love that.

But, one of the things that I think is really cool is, seniors got talent.

Oh, yeah.

I want to talk about that.

I think that is hilarious I love it.

Oh, it is, it's it's amazing to me to see how this little talent show has grow and to be such a big meaningful just event to seniors across the southeast.

So it's not only seniors in morning point, but senior in the community and everything.

That's correct.

So seniors got talent to started as just a small activity at the morning point of Hixson Franklin and Greg went and saw it in person and they were like oh my gosh, this is fantastic.

Because, you know, we celebrate seniors every day inside morning points.

But this is a way for us to extend that celebration to seniors, to anybody and everybody over the age of 60.

So it is open to anybod and everybody to audition you.

Their criteria is to have to be over the age of 60.

It could be any talent.

What I mean, any talent.

We have ballroom dancers.

We've had comedians.

We have had violinists.

So it is open to any type of talent.

And we take all the auditions.

We, we select the top ten from all the auditions to compete live on stage in front of an audience and judges in hopes of winning the thousand dollars grand prize.

But we had some that kind of go past that, don't we?

We do, we do.

So we have a total of four seniors.

Got talent.

We have won the first one is here in Chattanooga.

Then we have one in Lexington, Kentucky, Franklin, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee.

But I have to tell you so I know that I was getting phon calls from LA and from New York, and they were like, we want to get in touch with some of your seniors from Seniors Got Talent.

And I know that they the seniors are the very first victims when it comes to scams.

The red.

Buzzer.

Yeah I know.

And also when they've got you know, America's Got Talent or bad guys.

So thank you for coming but no thanks.

So I was very protective and I was like, no, no thank you I'm good.

And so eventually I ended up getting a phone call from the morning of Franklin saying, the Magnolia Network is trying to get in touch with you.

You really need to call them back.

So I did okay.

It was legit.

It was a casting director from, at the time and national television show reality show.

They wanted to get in touch with six of my contestants for a potential talent show, and that they saw all the contestants on the Seniors Got Talent full of recording shows on YouTube, and they were in love.

So I called this contestants and I said, hey, this is what's going on can I give you your information?

And they were like, yes.

So the very first contestant that made it through to America's Got Talent, her name was Corky Miller.

She was our winner for th Seniors Got Talent, Knoxville.

She got all four yeses, eve from Simon Cowell two years ago.

Wow.

Yes.

And s she made it through auditions, and she flew back to L.A. for the show.

She didn't make it past the first round, but she was like, I would have never thought in a million years that something that I thought was funny would be funny to everybody at the masses.

And she said, I would not have had that opportunity if I was not on Seniors Got Talent.

But the thing about it is think about her grandkids.

Yes.

The grandkids are like, oh my gosh, grandma, look at you.

She was on national television.

Yes I know.

And she has landed Netflix opportunities all just because of being on America's Got Talent which resulted from Seniors Got Talent.

But just recently, this week alone, I've had a second contestant who was on auditions fo our senior America's Got Talent, and she got three yeses an she made it to the next round.

And this is the part that just shows you that age is just a number.

It is.

She is a beautifu 70 year old belly dancer that's had two hip replacements.

I mean, she's on stage balancing a sword on her head, and she looked gorgeous.

And it just shows you that age is just a number.

And you're never too old to fulfill your dreams.

I know, Miranda, thank you so much for coming in today.

This has been fascinating.

I love it, and hearing more about these seniors that there is life after 60.

There is.

I know, I love it.

So thank you so much.

Thank you I appreciate it.

Up next we have Tin Harris from Chattanooga Cancer Support Services.

Stay with us.

We want to know how you serve your community.

Send us photos or videos of you or your family volunteering, and we may feature it on a future episode.

Email stronger@wtcitv.org or use the hashtag STRONGERWTCI on social media.

Welcome back.

We're joined by Tina Harris, executive director of Chattanooga Cancer Support Services.

This organization provides vital support to cancer patients and their families.

Welcome, Tina.

I'm so glad you're with me today.

Thank you.

Barbara.

I'm so glad to be here.

I remember it.

And I think a lot of our older viewers will remember.

Chattanooga Tumor Clinic was its original name.

So tell me how it got to where it's at today.

Well, as health care changed, when the Affordable Care Act came about, patients started getting more insurance through TennCare, Medicare, the expansion and so forth.

So as we looked at our services and the care that we provide at Erlanger for 75 years to wher we were a medical cancer clinic and saw the patients ther from our volunteer physicians, that as patients moved back to the office, the cancer centers, and seein their doctors in their office, our services actually started to deplete and the patients started to, shift from us to inside the, doctor's offices that were providing the care.

Oh, and so then now you went from being hospital led.

Now you've switched over to community led.

Right?

Our leaders at, now called the Chattanooga Cancer Support Services and we call it CCSS for short, because that's a mouthful.

Started realizing that we needed to approach the patient as, as a whole, not just seeing the patient in our clinic for free, but meeting the other needs.

How are they getting bac and forth to their treatments?

A lot of times, patients were unable to make it to their treatment because they didn't have, resources.

And also some were on the verge of homelessness.

We knew that patients that were able now to get, Medicaid and and TennCare, they were still struggling to meet their everyday needs.

And so we started shifting to the whole person a needs assessment, a comprehensive assessment to fill in the gap.

So basically, now you've moved over to, wraparound services.

Correct.

So not only the services, what you can provide there, but what other services were out there, maybe bringing other nonprofits to the table to say, okay, you know, do referral service.

So let's talk about how does someone qualify to to come to, you guys.

So, actually, we treat 18 to, all the way up, 18 and above.

So all adults that are diagnosed with cancer that are either about to undergo treatment or undergoing treatment.

Okay.

They have to meet the federa poverty level of 200% and below to qualify for us.

And they can be, uninsured or underinsured.

Okay.

So those are the couple of primary.

Okay.

And then when they come in you do the financial assessment to see if they fit and everything.

And then you bring them in.

And now you do a full assessment of what services they need, not only for the cancer and everything, but also what other additional services do they need transportation to get there to the clinic are the services and everything provided right there at the clinic because you're not at Erlanger anymore, are you?

No.

We are currently housed at, CHI Memorial.

Okay.

In Memorial Plaza C, C for cancer.

Okay.

But it's not the whole facility is not for cancer.

But.

Yeah, a majority of it is.

And what we d when a person is either referred or theyre self-referred to us, we do an urgent needs assessment.

So what that involves is, internal.

What does this patient need right now?

Do they need gas cards?

Do they need a hotel room because they're getting radiation therapy and they live far away?

Those are the urgent needs that we look at.

And then our nurse navigators take it from there, looking at, projecting.

Well, this patient is diagnosed let's just say had neck cancer, and they're in need of, we know that they will undergo surgery and lymph node dissection.

We know that after that they they will receive concurrent chemo radiation therapy.

And so part of their treatment plan is they have to see an oral surgeon.

So we facilitate that.

If there's teeth that need to be extracted we get those extracted.

We help Connect the patient to our external network of other nonprofits and other physician that actually provide services to ensure the patient makes it to the treatment.

The patient gets the full treatment that they need, and actually prevent further delay of their care, because a lot of times patients come in at stage three and stage four and they're kind of behind the eight ball, and you need to get them started quickly.

So we help facilitate that.

And once the nurse navigators know their needs, do they need a Pag tub we help, you know, pay for that.

And the nutritional services that come along with it.

And then it goes to our social worker who does a comprehensive needs assessment.

Do they need or ar they about to become homeless?

Do they need food?

Can we get the signed up with a payer source?

TennCare, Georgia medicaid.

If they live in Georgia, Medicare?

Do they nee optimizing of their insurance?

A lot of stuff that we do there, because a lot of times these patients come in, they just don't have a diagnosis of cancer.

They have a diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol problems that hav all been, needs have been unmet.

So those ar some of the things that we do.

And then we also have a counseling services.

Because when you're diagnosed with cancer and you're trying to navigate the health care system, which is what we do and we help them navigate, we come alongside of them and treat them and the whole family and getting them connected with the resources and our resources to they'll have a better, a better overall, treatment release of just the anxiety, the stress of navigating that grief.

A lot of times our counselo will meet with patients weekly just because they're just they're just overwhelme with everything and their family and our, our counselor or our licensed counselor is, bilingual.

And so she meets with, with both our Latino Hispanic population and everyone that that comes through our doors.

So you don't provide the, the treatments or anything like that.

The doctors do that wherever in the hospitals or whatever.

Like you're just providing those wraparound support services that that patient needs.

So you're like a central hub, and then they'll hav other doctors that they're going and seeing for their specific needs.

But now you're really looking at that.

The wellness of not only the patient but also the family too, because cancer doesn't just affect that one person affects the whole family.

Exactly.

Because a lot of times, patients who are diagnosed especially when you're looking at stage three and stage four, they're already sick.

And then you've got family member who are trying to navigate work.

Plus getting their family member back and forth to treatment.

So yes, we come alongsid and we treat them holistically.

The whole family.

And a lot of times we would not be able t do what we do if we did not have the networking and other nonprofits around.

Just let's just say our homeless, or unhoused, patients that are referred.

We work really close with Welcome Home, which is another nonprofit.

To get these people, settled in a place to where they're not having to to, live on the streets while they're undergoing treatment or they don't receive treatmen because you can't find them and so forth, because they're always navigating the city.

Yeah, it' a transitional housing for them.

You know.

Correct.

The car to a friend's couch or something like that, and you can't have that quality of care in everything.

So if so if there's a self-referra in the some somebody, comes in, does you staff help them to qualify them for like TennCare or Medicaid or anything like that?

Yes.

Our financial, navigation program which our social worker leads.

Joyce Sneller leads this.

She does an in-depth interview account.

Very comprehensive interview.

Yeah.

And and seeing if they qualify.

And a lot of times they do.

I don't know about you, but, most people try to navigate Medicare.

You have to have a PhD to understand all the services, the different plans.

And so we help them navigate that.

I can't fathom somebody on the street who's suffering, who's like, all right, I've got cancer.

That's the end of life diagnosis for me.

Well, it's not necessary end of life.

Because like you said, if you can give them the support, the wraparound services, the referrals to the other doctors for, hypertension and or maybe diabetes or some of the other things tha the cancer they're focused on.

The cancer is not focused on some of these underlying problems that may have been there for a while, but this cancer is the one that has their attention now.

Now you're saying, no, we've got some other underlying things that we can help you to get.

You know, the like you said, food supplements that they might need, whether it's from cancer treatments or it is you're a diabetic.

So now you're goin to have to have a special diet along with the supplements for the cancer.

So you guys are taking a lot of tha heavy weight off their shoulders and just kind of letting them breathe and go, okay, handle the treatment, get through that.

We're going to work on the rest of it.

Correct?

Correct.

So so I love tha the support services really does fit your name like it did before and everything.

But I want to get back t one thing that you talked about was th the neck and throat cancer.

Yes.

I never thought about this.

What does that do?

I mean, it destroys the chemo destroys or the radiation destroys the, the teeth.

But then they do something to the bone too sometimes.

Well, amazingly, the the treatment have improved over the decades.

So they are the radiation oncologists are able to, get off the critical, organs and, and also, Pinpoint.

Pinpoint more the cancer and the lymph node areas.

But unfortunately, sometime people have their cancer right smack in the middle of their mouth.

Yeah.

And so you can't avoid some of that.

And if, if you think of someone who has neglected their health care, they've also neglected their oral care.

And so you can't go in and treat with chemotherapy and radiation therapy with someone who has a mouthful of rotten teet because they will get very sick.

It also can cause mouth sores and so forth with the chemotherapy.

And we also provide services for the the side effect medications.

So a lot of time these patients need medications.

And if they're uninsured they have no way of getting those medications.

And we provide that service too.

Okay.

30s crystal ball.

Where are you going to be the next 3 to 5 years?

Well, because we've expanded so much, we have to grow.

And so we are going to have t move off of the memorial campus.

And our big plans are for a 10,000 square foot facility on Brainerd Road.

So we're looking forward to that, will span our programs well and and literally expand into volunteers and, and newer programs.

So it's looking great.

And then I'm excited for you guys.

We are very excited.

That's awesome.

So Tina, thank you so much for coming in today and sharing more about CCSS.

No thank you.

I appreciate it.

And thank you for joining us.

We hope you've learned more about the amazing work being done by our local nonprofits.

We'd love to hear from you.

Email us at.

Stronger at WTC tv.org or use the hashtag stronger WTCI on social media.

I'm Barbara Marte and from all of us here at WTCI.

We'll see you next time.

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