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Axis Community Health, a nonprofit medical clinic offering affordable health care services for uninsured and low-income residents in the Tri-Valley, will soon open up another facility on the edge of downtown Livermore.
A ceremony was held last Thursday to celebrate the start of renovations at the building located at 1686 Second St., which was previously occupied by Legacy Real Estate & Associates. With other locations in Pleasanton, Dublin and another site on Pacific Avenue in Livermore, the new clinic marks a major milestone for Axis to provide additional resources to the community.
With all existing Axis sites operating at full capacity – including the Pleasanton clinic opened in 2016 – the demand for accessible health care in the Tri-Valley region continues to grow, Axis officials said. The waiting list for the Dublin dental clinic alone exceeds 1,200 individuals. The new site will address the increased need by significantly expanding services and capacity.
"We are incredibly excited to begin renovations on our new clinic site in Livermore," said Liz Perez-Howe, CEO of Axis Community Health, in a statement. "This expansion represents our commitment to meeting the growing healthcare needs of Tri-Valley residents. We are grateful for the community’s continued support and look forward to providing high-quality care to even more individuals."
Slated to open next summer, the new "health care hub" is projected to accommodate 20,000 total visits per year for approximately 5,600 patients. It will feature six dental operatories, six examination rooms and dedicated offices for behavioral health services.
The ceremony featured remarks from Perez-Howe along with Axis board chair James Paxson, Livermore Mayor John Marchand, Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown, who each expressed excitement for the new clinic and praised Axis' contributions to sustaining health in the Tri-Valley.
"We knew that Livermore was a place that was important to invest in and an important place for us to expand services," Paxson said of the new site location during the recent ceremony. "I like ribbon-cuttings because they celebrate accomplishment but I think in some ways, I like groundbreakings even more because you have the opportunity to celebrate hope, prospect and possibility," he added.
Last year, Axis provided more than 108,000 health care visits across its sites to over 14,000 patients, with 5,000 of those patients being Livermore residents.
"This is an exceptional moment as we work together to bring affordable health care, mental health and dental health to the entire Tri-Valley," said Brown, highlighting the collaborative effort to provide services to the region. "We're proud of this clinic that just a few years ago was opened in Dublin and now it's at capacity and now we need to expand," she added.
Hernandez also underscored collaboration in her remarks. "I always like to say that we don't only fight here in the region but we go to Sacramento and we go to Washington, D.C. and I do believe that we do a great job on trying to be able to fight for what we need here in the Tri-Valley," she said.
The event also formally kicked off the capital campaign for the facility to raise additional funds needed to complete the project. The total cost of the project is $8 million. With $5.7 million in cash/equity and financing allowed for the acquisition of the building and $1 million provided by government funding, the campaign's goal is to raise another $1.3 million over the next two years to complete construction, furnish the space and acquire essential medical equipment, according to Axis officials.
Last month, the Rotary Club of Livermore Valley contributed $26,300 to support the new clinic. The organization used $25,000 that had been awarded to them – along with nine other Bay Area rotaries – by Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert as part of his commitment to help local communities recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan Act provided funds to support those most impacted by the economic downturn related to the pandemic. Haubert directed the rotary clubs to use the funds to support those who are unhoused, or youth, or part of an underserved community.
"The Livermore Valley Rotary Club determined that Axis Community Health serves those most in need in our community and truly fulfills the intent of ARPA," said former club president Kevin McCallum in a statement announcing the contribution.
The rotary club also added funds to Haubert’s grant so that the donation could fund the start-up supplies of three of the dental offices planned for the new Livermore clinic.
More information about Axis and its services can be found here.
