It’s been two months nearly to the day since Mission Medical opened its doors to patients. Friday, the Russellville clinic will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting.

The new clinic was opened by nurse practitioners Melanie Malone and Jean Stowe, who had worked together previously and wanted to return to the Russellville area in a joint venture.

“We just wanted to get back to our home base in Russellville,” said Stowe. When she began considering opportunities, Stowe was approached by a potential investor and soon after found available office space next to Russellville Drugs, proposed by Wes Mayfield. She said she found the combination of positive outcomes to be a complete “God thing.” “Everything just fell into place,” Stowe said. “Melanie and I have always liked working together, so we just decided to start this new adventure together.”

Together with Carolee Cosby as office manager and medical assistant Mariza Bela, the two CRNPs said they are excited to return to providing care in Russellville and the surrounding area.

“We’re just here to provide services to patients and particularly to our patients who have seen us in the past,” said Malone, who has been a nurse practitioner about 13 years. Stowe has been a practitioner about 15 years.

Stowe and Malone said they are eager to welcome patients they have seen over their years as providers and are also happy to welcome new patients as well as one-time or repeat walk-ins. “You become close to your patients and their families, and we like taking care of the whole family,” Stowe said.

Dr. Jeffrey Chenyi is collaborating physician for the clinic. “He’s available if we have questions about patients and their care or if they need to be admitted into the hospital,” Malone said.

In addition to providing care in-house at the clinic, Mission Medical can refer patients to specialists or for procedures like lab work and X-rays. “We can provide all levels of care,” Stowe said. Notably, Malone said they will place a heavy focus on preventative care and wellness.

“Our primary goal is to put the focus on preventative disease processes or catching things early,” she said. “We just want to take care of patients.”

In addition, Malone can also provide obstetrical/gynecological care, collaborating with a gynecologist. “It’s a way of getting pre-natal care and not having to drive to Florence for every single visit,” she said.

Mission Medical is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. The community is invited to the grand opening Friday at noon

Malone is married to Bradley Malone, and they have two children: Brayden, 12, and Bella, 7. Stowe is married to Richard Stowe, and children are Heather Godwin, Jessica Allen and husband Jesse and Jeremy Stowe and wife Cheryl. They have eight grandchildren.