Palms Medical Group will open its new High Springs location on Monday at the former Fellowship Baptist Church off US 441.
The not-for-profit medical group has been in the city since 2014, with a clinic near the High Springs Playhouse. The administrative offices for the group are also in High Springs.
Anita Rembert, CEO of Palms Medical Group, said the new location at 16916 US 441 will provide around four times the space as the previous clinic. The new clinic also has room for additional providers—nurse practitioners and physicians—as needed.
The location will have 20 employees to start, and Rembert said Palms hasn’t decided what to do with the old clinic.
“We’ve been growing, basically, since the day we opened that facility,” Rembert said. “But the last four or five years, we’ve really been searching for a larger location to help us meet our growing patient population.”
She said the organization always considers the impact of a relocation on patients, and the new clinic is only a few minutes from the former spot. Besides more rooms and parking, Palms has added a pharmacy and x-ray facilities.
The pharmacy will have a drive-thru option and serve patients leaving their appointments.
“Our goal is before you check out, your prescription is ready when you walk out the door so that you don’t have to wait,” Rembert said.
Palms has finished two other capital projects in the last 12 months—a doubling of its Live Oak location and construction of a single building for its east Lake City location. The Live Oak and Lake City locations also added pharmacies.
Rembert said the High Springs project cost around $4 million. She said no other capital projects are underway.
The Fellowship Baptist Church had been on the market for several years. Alachua County had a contract to purchase the facility for a portion of that time, but in June 2021, the county commission decided to pass on a purchase.
Rembert said Palms had its eye on the location when it was under county contract. Palms bought the site in 2023 before getting to work on engineering and construction. Rembert said neighbors have visited the site to see the work and, before signs announced the new owner, tried to figure out what would happen at the location.
Palms staff were putting the final touches on the site Thursday, from landscaping to stocking shelves and adding personal touches to offices.
Rembert said they’ll be ready for patients come Monday.
Palms started in 1971 and became a federally qualified health center in 1988, with grants to help underinsured and uninsured patients. Rembert said the goal is to serve the whole community.
The group has offices in Trenton, Bell, Williston, Starke, Chiefland, Live Oak and Fleming Island. Palms has also entered more urban areas with offices in Gainesville and Lake City.
“That’s our mission,” Rembert said. “We go where the need is. We are here to serve our community.”