FLORENCE — A Chinese company partnering with the University of North Alabama to develop an integrative health program appears ready to move forward on selecting a site for the endeavor, officials said today.

They said a news conference is scheduled for Thursday afternoon to discuss the project.

Florence Mayor Mickey Haddock confirmed a news conference is scheduled but declined to elaborate on the purpose of the gathering other than to say it involves the old Florence Golf and Country Club property, which the city bought for $2 million in November 2009.

Zhang Zhiting, chairman of Shenqi Ethnic Medicine College, wants to work with UNA students and others in the Shoals to study and research changes in the mindset people have toward health care and lifestyle. Zhiting has stated he wants his company to be on the cutting edge of that change.

The company is in the Guizhou Province of China.

Company officials have been in the Shoals in recent months in search of a campus-type site for the program, which provides credit hours in UNA’s master’s degree offering in health and human performance.

The former country club just off Alabama 20 has previously been mentioned as a potential site. The property is now being used as an activities venue for Florence seniors, City officials have said they would not disrupt the seniors program before a new center is in place.

University and city officials said no decisions have been made on whether the former golf course would be suitable for the health program.

Florence purchased the former country club and its about 160 acres as a fallback plan should it be needed to expand the sanitary landfill next door to the course. The city has scrapped those plans and has been looking for other uses for the property, including selling it.

The integrative health program, which has been approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, would focus on training professionals on wellness and preventive health tactics such as stress management, nutrition, exercise science and mental health.

The integrative health center, once built, will also have a garden featuring herbs and plants from around the world. The garden will serve as a sort of visitor’s attraction and will be used in research.