MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY -- A university in Lackawanna County has plans to get into the nursing home business.
Marywood University officials announced Friday they plan to buy the Holy Family Residence, an assisted-living facility operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Marywood University President Sister Mary Persico says plans are to make Holy Family more a part of the campus, part of a national trend called a university-based retirement community.
"They will be able to come to our library which is known as the Learning Commons, to read or to read the newspaper, have a cup of coffee. We are hoping to have an intergenerational community between the residents at Holy Family and the students at Marywood University," said Sister Mary Persico.
Marywood plans to purchase Holy Family from the Little Sisters of the Poor. The 79 current residents can stay and Marywood hopes to add more, eventually making the assisted-living facility a revenue source for the school.
Marywood could also save money by having nursing students complete clinical training at Holy Family.
The school's architecture students will take part in designing the renovations for the building.
"Being a fifth-year student next year, it would be an awesome project to kind of end the five years together," said architecture student Antonio Cicco.
"I was talking to some of our colleagues and they said, you know, it's nice to see a project that's right next door, something that we ourselves haven't really experienced, trying to develop that and make it a Marywood asset as well as a community," said architecture student Lori Shaeffer.
Marywood is not saying how much it is paying to buy Holy Family.
Officials say the switch over at Holy Family will be gradual.
Marywood will be looking for an outside nursing facility operator to run the place.