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A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Jan. 9 to celebrate Fast Pace Health opening its urgent care clinic in Clanton.

Clanton Mayor Jeff Mims, left, with Fast Pace Health’s certified registered nurse practitioner Robin Yeargan.

Fast Pace Urgent Care in Clanton has nine rooms to serve patients.

Some of the values Fast Pace Health is built upon.

Fast Pace Urgent Care’s staff of Robin Yeargan, left, Jill Bennett, Heather Howell, Denise Rhodes, Kevin Dennis and Doug DeLoach.

Fast Pace Urgent Care offers x-ray services at its Clanton urgent care clinic.

Fast Pace Urgent Care does not require appointments for patients to be seen.

One of the rooms inside Fast Pace Urgent Care in Clanton.

Fast Pace Urgent Care in Clanton opened its doors officially on Jan. 9.

Fast Pace Urgent Care in Clanton opened its doors officially on Jan. 9.

Story by Carey Reeder

Photos by Carey Reeder & Brandy Clackley

In rural Alabama, healthcare options are few and far between. In a place like Chilton County, while there is an award-winning hospital nearby in UAB St. Vincent’s Chilton, there are not many urgent care options for residents who do not want to go to the emergency room. Now, Fast Pace Health is shrinking that gap here in Chilton County by opening a new urgent care clinic in the heart of Clanton.

On Jan. 9, Fast Pace Health opened the doors of an urgent care clinic in Clanton that will help eliminate the gap between rural residents and healthcare. The opening of the building was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony alongside the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce to welcome the business to town.

“(Rural healthcare) is an area that we look and say ‘What is that need?’” Doug DeLoach, Regional Director in Alabama for Fast Pace Health, said. “When you do see an area that has limited coverage, you do surveys and see parking lots that are full of people having long waits, it definitely lends itself to being a place where you should put a (Fast Pace Urgent Care).”

Fast Pace Health bought the lot that Gail Dansby Realty was at for many years. They tore down the older, smaller building and built a brand-new facility from the ground up. It took only a few months for the urgent care clinic to be complete and open its doors to start serving patients. The urgent care is a nurse-practitioner-led clinic with Robin Yeargan, a local certified registered nurse practitioner, leading the staff. Fast Pace can see patients for a variety of different medical issues ranging from cough and colds, urinary tract infections, minor sprains, fractures, minor dental pain and more. Overall, mostly any issue a patient would go see their primary care doctor for can be done at Fast Pace.

“In the future we will possibly have primary care on board, but right now we are strictly an urgent care,” Yeargan said. “If we feel like you have something going on that is more serious, we can send a patient for a CT scan or ultrasound at the local hospital. Our goal is to get you in and out, and no appointment necessary. Just come in and walk out.”

Fast Pace also has dedicated primary care services and dedicated orthopedic services that are separate from the urgent care services. Additionally, Fast Pace has a large behavioral health program that has specific nurse practitioners that do nothing but psychiatric and behavioral healthcare, and licensed counselors and therapists as well. If someone is in need of these types of services to help with depression, anxiety or other things, Fast Pace could see them within a couple of weeks of requesting an appointment.

Fast Pace Health is based out of Franklin, Tennessee and began placing clinics in Alabama in January 2023. The Clanton location at 1203 7th Street N., Clanton is the 25th location in Alabama the healthcare provider has opened in just two years. Fast Pace Health also ranks as one of the largest rural healthcare providers in the United States with nearly 400 locations across the nation.

DeLoach said patients nowadays are accessing healthcare more through urgent care clinics than primary care doctors than ever before. Many counties in Alabama qualify for rural health certifications, and Chilton County is one of them. Putting the urgent care in Clanton was a perfect fit. Fast Pace Health does bring clinics to a number of rural areas, but they also have clinics in bigger municipalities like Alabaster, Calera and Prattville. However, a look at rural healthcare will always be important to the business.

“We want to go where people are having to drive to access healthcare, and we want to put locations closer to where they live,” DeLoach said.

Fast Pace also has the luxury of having a local face lead their medical team in Yeargan. She was born and raised in Chilton County before moving to Montana for a bit. Yeargan’s daughter Holly Deavers, grandchildren and family brought her back to the area, and now she is leading the staff at Fast Pace Health.

For Yeargan, getting to treat people that she knows is something she is proud of, and having that local face present for a patient can make a load of difference for them. While at retirement age, Yeargan still chooses to work, enjoys coming into work, serving the community and helping them get better.

“I love treating people that I know, and it makes a difference for a patient to come in and see a familiar face,” Yeargan said. “The medical field is the hardest job you will ever love. You have to have a desire and a love of others, and it is a calling for me. The Lord called me to do what I am doing, and I absolutely enjoy every patient I have.”

DeLoach is an occupational therapist by trade, but he has been involved in healthcare management for over 20 years. DeLoach said the best thing about Fast Pace is when sick folks come into the clinic and they do not want to go to the emergency room, Fast Pace can help get them the help they need where they prefer it. Also, helping find hidden and underlying conditions that people may not know is going on inside their body is another rewarding part of DeLoach’s job, and being able to get those patients to doctors who can help reverse whatever is going on.

“Being able to help them with that part of their healthcare, and getting them on a path where they are more medically stable is a tremendous thing,” DeLoach said.

Before Fast Pace opened, the only urgent care locally was the Chilton Urgent Care by Chilton County High School. That facility was routinely busy, leaving residents without another place to utilize when feeling ill. There was a need for another urgent care clinic, and Fast Pace answered that call. The first day Fast Pace was open they saw 31 patients, and the third day open they saw over 50 patients — truly showing the need for such a clinic in Chilton County.

“That tells you what our need is here,” Yeargan said.

Fast Pace Urgent Care is open seven days a week except on major holidays. Its hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Monday-Friday are longer than most urgent care clinics, giving residents the chance to come in after work shifts, ballgames and more. Fast Pace is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and can be reached at 205-990-2590.

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