Quitman, Texas · A regional initiative in development
A new kind of memory care, coming to East Texas.
The Memory Health Life Center is bringing a new approach to memory health to East Texas — one that combines compassionate residential care, family support, healthcare education, and workforce development. Planned for Quitman, the Center will be a place to live, to learn, and to develop better ways of caring for people living with dementia.
Looking for support today?Start with family & caregiver resources
Start where you are
What brought you here?
Choose the answer closest to yours.
01I am living with dementia
See what everyday life could look like.Small homes, gardens, and shared routines planned around an ordinary day.A day at MHLC02I am caring for someone
Find help today, and answers about the Center.Trusted resources now, and what families can expect as the project develops.For families03I work in dementia care
Explore our plans for education and training.Learning opportunities planned for care professionals and family caregivers.Education & workforce04I am a clinician, educator, or partner
Learn the care model and where collaboration fits.The five principles behind the approach, and the healthcare and education relationships being explored.The care model05I live in East Texas
See what this could mean for our region.Why Quitman, and how the Center could serve the wider region.Location & region06I want to support the project
Follow the progress and find ways to take part.Where the project stands, and how individuals, families, and organizations can help bring it to life.Building the vision
Why East Texas needs this
Families across East Texas deserve better options for memory health.
In much of rural East Texas, specialized dementia care is hard to find. Families drive long distances to reach specialists or settle for settings that were never designed for memory loss, while spouses and adult children carry years of care at home with little training or relief. And the people who want to provide that care well have few places nearby to learn how.
459,300Texans age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s Association, 2024
Why this project, and why hereDaily life at the Center
Care that looks like a life, not a hallway.
A day at the Memory Health Life Center is designed around the familiar rhythms of home: morning coffee, time in the garden, shared meals, meaningful activities, and connections with others.
- Morning
A home, not a ward
Small homes shared by 8 to 12 residents, with open rooms and natural light.
- Midday
Room to move
Paths, gardens, and a reflection lake at the heart of the site.
- Afternoon
Something to do
The greenhouse, the barn, music and art: purpose, not distraction.
- Evening
People who know you
Staff trained to listen and respond, and time with family and neighbors.
Shaped by the five care principles of John Zeisel, PhD, and by the Hogeweyk dementia village in the Netherlands.
Explore Our Care PhilosophyMore than a place to live
Live. Learn. Connect.
One campus where residential care, professional learning, and family support strengthen each other, and a resource for the whole region.
Concept rendering, not a completed facility. Planned
Live
Residential living
A village of small homes for 54 residents living with dementia, built around dignity, familiar routines, and connection.
Concept image, not MHLC staff or residents. Planned
Learn
Education & workforce development
An education and training center for care professionals and family caregivers, with healthcare collaboration and clinical learning being explored.
Concept image, not an MHLC event. Underway
Connect
Family & community connection
Resources, gatherings, and partnerships helping families and communities across East Texas respond to memory loss.
Underway is offered through the Foundation today. Planned is in the project plan, not yet operating.
Explore all six places on the campus
Rooted here, reaching further
Built in Quitman. Built for the region.
The 29-acre site is owned by the Wood County Central Hospital District and sits beside UT Health Quitman, giving residents a clinical neighbor and the region a natural home for training and collaboration. From here, the Foundation hopes to develop approaches to dementia care that families, providers, and communities across East Texas, and beyond, can learn from.
The site and the region“This town could be a community, an Alzheimer’s-friendly community, where the restaurants and everybody in town would understand how Alzheimer’s works.”
For families & caregivers
You do not have to find your way alone.
Exploring the future is one thing. Finding support today is another. Our family and caregiver resources are a place to begin now.
A few things you may be wondering
Is the Center open?
Not yet. MHLC is a planned community in development, and it is not accepting residents. The images on this page describe a future vision.
When can families learn about availability?
An opening date and admissions process have not been announced. Receive project updates or contact the Foundation with questions. Subscribing does not reserve a place.
Where can I find help today?
Our family and caregiver resources connect you with helplines, local organizations, and trusted information about dementia and caregiving right now.
Project progress
Building the vision.
The Memory Health Life Center is advancing through a careful, staged planning process: vision and early support first, then architecture, feasibility, and financing, before any construction begins.
Current stage: architectural planning is beginning. The Center is not yet open.
- Completed · Since 2020
Vision, leadership, and initial support
A care model and a 29-acre site beside UT Health Quitman, initial philanthropic gifts, and federal funding for the clinic and education wing.
- Underway
Architectural selection and program planning
The Foundation is beginning the process of engaging an architect to design the campus and refine its programs.
- Ahead
Design development and financial feasibility
Turning the concept into a design, with a budget and operating plan to match.
- Ahead
Leadership philanthropy and capital financing
Significant commitments and financing for construction, with any public campaign approved by the Board.
- Ahead
Construction and opening
Not yet scheduled. Dates will be shared once they are set.
Funding at a glance
- Estimated project costPreliminary; architectural planning will refine it
- ~$60M
- Federal fundingDesignated for the clinic and education wing
- $6,000,000
- Community gifts to datePer the Foundation's gift records, October 2026
- $463,905
Figures as published by the Foundation. Designated federal funds are shown separately from community gifts, and the estimate is not a campaign goal. See the full numbers.
A vision taking shape
Help bring a new future for memory health to East Texas.
With initial philanthropic support and federal funding helping advance the project, the Wood County Health Care Foundation is taking important steps toward making this vision a reality. As architectural planning begins, the Foundation is working to translate it into a thoughtfully designed campus.
This is an opportunity to be part of something from the beginning. Individuals, families, foundations, businesses, and community partners can each help advance the work needed to bring this new resource to East Texas.
Stay connected
Be part of what comes next.
Follow the progress of the Memory Health Life Center and learn how this new approach to memory health is taking shape in East Texas.