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A vision a longtime in the making has come to fruition.

The Escambia County Healthcare Authority (ECHCA) and members of the community today celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting for Atmore Urgent Care.

According to Atmore Advance archives, the clinic will offer increased access to care for all citizens of Atmore and surround communities; modern facility and equipment; enhanced wellness programs and employee health programs; and easy and safe access to healthcare.

Services that will be provided include a two-sided clinic with one side providing comprehensive urgent care for patients including sick visits, X-Ray, labs, small procedures and more. The other side includes wellness and screening to include wellness exams, department of transportation physicals and preventive screenings aimed at early detection and diagnosis.

“This is a longtime coming,” Atmore Community Hospital Administrator Brad Lowery said. “This was a need, and it’s great to see a large number of people here today.”

Community and state dignitaries, ECHCA staff and board members, contractors, along with area residents attended the ribbon cutting.

ECHCA Chairwoman Debbie Rowell thanked all who have been involved in making Atmore Urgent Care possible.

“It’s been about a year from the start of construction,” Rowell said. “We had been working on this for three years prior to that.”

Lowery said Atmore Urgent Care represents phase 1 of what the ECHCA wants to build at the site, which is located at 5850 Highway 21, behind Taco Bell.

Lowery emphasized that rural healthcare is important to the area, and that partnerships are equally important. He added that Poarch and other areas are partners.

“We have a huge team approach to this,” Lowery said. “The whole community at large has been a big part of this.

“We are excited about this, and there’s more to come,” he said.

During the ceremony, ECHCA board members presented longtime board member Ruth Harrell’s family a plaque in honor of Harrell, who passed away in December 2020.

Atmore Urgent Care will open for business tomorrow, Tues., Aug. 30.