GERALDINE, Ala. (WHNT) — The site of an old bank building will soon house the Town of Geraldine’s growing medical clinic.

The Geraldine Clinic, owned by Michelle and Jeff Stuart, opened in 2019. The medical facility has been housed in a strip mall beside a Pizza Hut and a hair salon. Now, the clinic is preparing for a new, much larger center of operations.

“We are beyond excited,” said Jeff Stuart, the clinic’s co-owner. “Now we have to change the bank over from a bank to a clinic.”

The building the clinic will move into belongs to the Town of Geraldine, after receiving the property as a donation from Liberty Bank. The dilapidated building requires plenty of work before any patients get treated — so Mayor Chuck Ables stepped in to help.

The old Liberty Bank building will be the future home of The Geraldine Clinic after much-needed repairs and updates. The local bank moved from this location to a new one in 2008. (Photo: WHNT)

“I found a grant opportunity through Congressman Robert Aderholt’s office that targeted providing medical services to rural areas,” Ables told News 19. “After several conversations with Mr. Aderholt’s staff in Washington, Aderholt called to inform us the grant had been approved.”

The $375,000 in funding from Aderholt’s office will assist with renovations and upgrades, including HVAC, floors, interior partitions, and a reconfigured electrical system.

“That is a big task because of plumbing that needs to be added, rooms torn out and rebuilt, power, internet, new roof, moving existing air conditioners off the roof…,” Stuart added. “So I don’t really know when we might get all that done.”

The Geraldine Clinic’s current location in a strip mall along Highway 75. (Photo: WHNT)

Ables said the Stuarts will lease the building directly from the town.

“They are asking for a long-term lease and have a genuine heart’s desire to serve the people of this area for a long time,” Ables said. “We are thankful to have them in Geraldine and look forward to the day they can move to the new location.”

Ables said it would be several months before the clinic moves.

“We hope to offer, in addition to urgent and family care, X-ray, mammograms, EKG, infusion therapy, and aesthetics,” Stuart said. “All of these things could not be done now because we simply don’t have the room to even store the equipment.”

Stuart said they feel very welcomed in the community and hope to keep growing.

“We hope to create something with The Geraldine Clinic that lasts long after Michelle and I are gone for the sake of this town,” he concluded.