The mission of Axis Community Health is to foster the physical, emotional and social well-being of individuals, families and the Tri-Valley community through the provision of services which promote wellness and a positive quality of life.

Description:
Axis Community Health is a nonprofit community organization that provides a wide range of medical, psychological and social support services for residents of the Tri-Valley area. Axis is the only provider of medical care for the indigent and uninsured residents of eastern Alameda County.

Axis Community Health’s services include:

• Adult, pediatric and geriatric medical care
• Obstetrics, gynecology and family planning
• Mental health counseling
• Drug and alcohol recovery services for teens and adults
• Court-ordered DUI classes
• Domestic violence/anger management programs for teens and adults
• WIC nutrition program
• Community and school-based health education services
• Enrollment and eligibility services

Axis employs a staff of eighty-five that includes physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, registered dieticians, health educators and a variety of support personnel. Axis also has an intern program for post-master’s level mental health professionals.

The organization’s staff is multi-lingual and provides services in a variety of languages. In order to ensure that services are provided in a culturally-sensitive manner, the staff is representative of a variety of cultures and backgrounds. The Board of Directors is consumer-driven and representative of the community as well.

Axis provides services from four sites, including the main site in downtown Pleasanton, where medical services, drug and alcohol recovery services and mental health services are provided. Administrative offices are also located at this site. Axis also provides medical care in the City of Livermore’s Multi-Service Building. The WIC program is located on Santa Rita Road in Pleasanton, and the DUI program is located in the Dublin Tech Center in Dublin.

History:
Axis Community Health began in 1972 as a health center for low income children in eastern Alameda County who had no other access to health care. The health center’s founders were fully committed to making health care available to local residents who were indigent and uninsured. By the late 1970’s, they were able to add women’s health services and general medical services for indigent adults to the health center’s services. The WIC program, a federal nutrition program for young children and pregnant woman, was added to the health center’s roster of services when the program was implemented nationally in 1978.

Throughout the 1980’s, The Health Care Center, as it was called then, flourished, as both the budget and the number of patients grew steadily. In response to a growing need for services in Livermore, a satellite clinic in the City of Livermore’s Multi-Service Building opened in 1981. By 1985, the health center had a budget of one million dollars and was serving 4,000 local residents. A variety of services were added to the organization, including prenatal care, a senior support program and mental health counseling. In 1986, the name of the organization was changed to Valley Community Health Center (VCHC) to better reflect the growing complement of services and the expanding service area.

In 1996, VCHC merged with The Center, which was a local nonprofit agency that provided drug and alcohol recovery services, mental health counseling, and DUI classes.

In 2004, VCHC’s name was changed to Axis Community Health so that the organization could increase its visibility and eliminate confusion in the community with ValleyCare Medical Center, the local hospital. Now, as the sole provider of medical care for the indigent and uninsured population in the Tri-Valley area, Axis is recognized as a community leader in provision of a wide range of medical, behavioral health and social support services.

Contact people:

Carol Beddome, Director, Community Outreach, (phone), (email) Sue Compton, Chief Executive Officer, (phone), (email) Sandy English, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (925) 417-1503

Address:

4361 Railroad Avenue Pleasanton, CA 94566 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.axishealth.org

Directions:

From 680S towards San Jose take the Bernal Road exit towards Pleasanton. Take ramp towards Pleasanton/Fairgrounds Turn left onto 1st Street Turn left onto Neal Street Turn right onto Railroad Avenue   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Wheels Bus #10,   Walk distance (in minutes): 2   Nearest Bus Stop: Wheels Bus #10, 2 minute walk