On Friday, March 20, Keryx Ministries and Macon-Bibb County celebrated the beginning of construction on a new medical clinic in the Unionville neighborhood with a groundbreaking ceremony.
“This is about people in Macon-Bibb County coming together and saying, ‘we are united to make sure we give everyone a chance to succeed,’” said Mayor Lester Miller. “What better place to do that than right here in Unionville.”
The new clinic will be built at 871 Pansy Avenue and has been in the works for two decades.
“It started with the Peyton Anderson Foundation back in 2002,” said Dr. Henry Ficklin. “Then some medical students at Mercer came to Mayor Miller’s office and told him they wanted to put a free clinic in an underserved community.”
Those ideas are now coming to life. The Keryx Unionville Free Clinic will provide the neighborhood and county with basic health screenings, health checkups, seasonal immunizations, and other health maintenance services.
Through Mercer University’s Distinction in Service to the Community, or DISC, program, School of Medicine students will work alongside the clinic’s physician, develop initiatives like food access programs for patients, and help improve health literacy in the community. By assisting in the clinic, students will gain hands-on, service-learning experience while making a lasting difference in people’s lives and in the neighborhood.
“Mercer wants to be part of the glue that brings all of us together and makes things better,” said Hugh Sosebee, Senior Vice President for External Relations at Mercer University.
Construction of the new clinic is being funded with $763,550 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from Macon-Bibb County and $400,000 in Congressional Direct Funding through U.S. Representative Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.’s office.
“Projects like this often have too many costs for a city or community to take on alone, but we know the return on investment will be great,” said Representative Bishop. “This project is a testament to what we can achieve when Congress partners with local government like Macon-Bibb and community organizations like Keryx Ministries.”
The clinic is anticipated to open and begin serving the community in March 2027.
Keryx Ministries is a faith-based nonprofit charity that has been working in the Unionville neighborhood since 1998 and helps families in distress.