A 63-bed personal care home is scheduled to open this summer in Tarentum in a four-story building that has been vacant since 2012.
Tarentum Care, a brick building with a patio and outdoor garden at 416 E. Seventh Ave., is situated among single- family homes.
It’s a good fit, administrator Lawrence Michael said, because family is at the backbone of operations.
“We want the community to understand that we are here to serve them with a nurturing heart,” Michael said. “We will be giving our best for the care that their family deserves.”
The company will accept all insurances and private pay patients.
The space offers private and semi-private bedrooms, along with common areas with dining tables and TVs.
The goal is to support an independent lifestyle with opportunities for social connections.
The facility will accommodate people who need 24-hour care but also will offer memory care, therapy and respite services. Staff will manage medications, meals, appointments and offer a daily rotation of activities that include a walking club, chair yoga and movies.
“We want to make sure that whoever comes in, it feels like home,” Michael said. “One night we could be doing karaoke with their favorite songs and the next night we could be doing Zumba.”
The 20,000-square-foot building dates to 1950. It operated previously, for decades, as a personal care home called Allegheny Residence.
Tarentum Councilwoman Carrie Fox said she is happy to see new life being breathed into the long-vacant building.
“It’s exciting to see interest in the borough,” she said. “Business is the backbone to a great community.”
Interior renovations included a near-gutting of the building, which spanned four years after umbrella company Health Care Services bought it in 2022. Additional work included installing new floors and lighting, painting and building a full-service kitchen.
Alimatu Naziru, director of nursing, said she is eyeing a mid-summer opening, pending final inspection and certification by Allegheny County.
Naziru serves as regional director of clinical operations for five sites under Health Care Services.
Up to a dozen jobs will be created initially. More staff will be added as beds are filled.
Naziru expects that to happen quickly, saying, “We have caseworkers, liaisons and referrals waiting for us to be ready.
“We feel that there’s a demand in the area. We want to fill the need.”
After being tapped as facility head, Michael relocated from Maryland to Tarentum to help assimilate to the area.
“I don’t want to just come in and work,” he said. “I want to be part of the community so we better understand the needs. We want to touch lives and make it easier for families who need to bring someone here.”
Naziru said a family environment will extend throughout the facility, with communal dining and a garden area with benches to overlook the lower borough streets.
“We want it to be lovely and to feel like home,” she said.