This month, we celebrated all the strong, resilient, and diverse women in our lives!

Axis staff shared with us the female figures who inspired them to pursue a career in healthcare.

I always knew that I wanted to help people, but it was my aunt who really inspired me to go into the healthcare field. She worked as a nurse for many years and eventually went back to school to become a nutritionist. She would always keep pushing me to go into healthcare because she saw my passion for helping everyone around me and encouraged me to use that passion for good as she always did. I am so thankful for my aunt’s never-ending support and motivating me to keep working towards my goals of helping others and the community.

-Shelby Rovai, Clinic Manager

Dr. Christina Lee, my psychology professor, profoundly influenced my career choice in social work. Her patience and passion inspired me to seek a profession where I could make a meaningful impact on others’ lives and be just as fulfilled as she was. Under her guidance, I learned the importance of active listening, empowering individuals to be their own heroes, and witnessing the resilience of families as they persevere as a whole. Dr. Lee’s mentorship continues to shape my approach as I strive to create positive change in the world.

-Diana Calva Negrete, Information System Trainer

My first exposure to healthcare was through my aunt. She visited us in California when she would attend medical conferences. I was in awe of how she could do it all. Be a doctor, mother, wife, etc. She was so grounded, smart, and everyone in our family turned to her for medical advice. My inspiration to work in community health was through my mentor, Dr. Olayiwola, in medical school at UCSF. She showed me that as a family physician you can do more than patient care, and that using my voice for health equity is just as important! She really showed me the different facets of running a clinic that involve practice transformation and innovation!

-Dr. Sonali Sheth, Medical Director of Population Health

The female figure who inspired me to pursue a career in healthcare administration is my mom, Christina. She is a refractive surgery coordinator and has been working at the same ophthalmology practice for over 31 years. I’ve always admired her dedication to remaining committed to the practice, the patients, and her colleagues for the span of three decades. When I was in high school, I gained exposure to the work my mom does by spending time in her office after school. I enjoyed listening to conversations my mom and her coworkers would have about their day-to-day, and getting patients scheduled and prepped for surgery. I knew I wanted to be like my mom and do “something in healthcare” – I just didn’t know what that was at the time. As I progressed through college and my career my mom has always been by my side, encouraging me and supporting me to find my passion, which is working for Community Health Centers like Axis! 

-Angelina Speltz, Senior Director of Quality Enhancement

This month, I had the honor of attending the National Association of Community Health Center’s (NACHC) Policy and Issues forum in Washington, D.C. NACHC is the leading healthcare advocacy association that supports the vital work of Community Health Centers across our nation.

Throughout the conference, representatives from health centers from every state came together to listen to insights from federal partners and stakeholders, including leaders in community health nationwide. We were privileged to hear from Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, the White House’s Domestic Policy Director, Neera Tanden, and leaders from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among others. A singular theme resonated throughout every presentation and discussion: Community Health Centers change lives. Health centers like Axis serve as the backbone of our country’s healthcare system, indispensable in driving forward health equity and primary care access.

On the final day of the conference, we headed to Capitol Hill, to meet face-to-face with our elected representatives. Alongside our Senior Director of Development and External Affairs, Victoria Tishman, I had the privilege of meeting with Congressman DeSaulnier and Congressman Swalwell (pictured below), advocating for health equity, primary care accessibility, workforce development, telehealth expansion, and the overall well-being of our community. We discussed the continued need for sustained bipartisan backing for health center funding. It was quite an experience to see thousands of Community Health Center leaders flood the halls of Congress, leveraging our collective “people power” to champion the needs of our communities.

Upon returning, I took a moment to reflect on the rich history and profound significance of the work we do at Community Health Centers. Since the inception of the Community Health Center movement nearly sixty years ago, borne out of the Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty, health centers have been at the forefront of driving transformative change to advance health equity. We believe that healthcare is a fundamental right for all, and we are the best, most resilient, diverse, and indispensable part of our nation’s healthcare delivery system.

-Liz

This is just a short list of the countless contributions Black Americans have made to improve public health at home and abroad. May we celebrate their accomplishments and influences all year long!

To view the presentation, click here.

1. W.E.B. Du Bois
   • A famous historian, sociologist, and activist, W.E.B. Du Bois also made huge impacts on the field of public health! Through his ethnographic research featured in The Philadelphia Negro and The Souls of Black Folks, Du Bois and his work paved the way for highlighting the importance of the social and health consequences of racism and discrimination against Black Americans.
2. Adah Belle Samuels Thoms
   • Adah Belle Samuels Thoms was a devoted nurse who co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and fought for equal employment opportunities for Black Americans in the American Red Cross and U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Thoms was also one of the first nurses to be inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame for her work with civil rights and Black feminist activism.
3. Ionia Rollin Whipper
   • As a physician and public health reformer, Ionia Rollin Whipper was one of the few African American obstetricians in Washington, D.C. in the early 1900s. After discovering some of the shockingly unsanitary conditions in which young, poor mothers were forced to live, Whipper traveled throughout the South during the WW1 to educate Black mothers and midwives about public health and hygiene. Whipper devoted most of her career to either teaching or founding organizations to improve the lives of low-income Black women in Washington.
4. May Edward Chinn
   • As a renowned medical researcher for cancer detection, May Edward Chinn developed a protocol for cancer probability predictions using family medical history. She was also the first African American woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, which is now the NYU School of Medicine, as well as the first American American woman to intern at Harlem Hospital and to be granted hospital privileges.
5. Virginia Margaret Alexander
   • Virginia Margaret Alexander was a physician and public health researcher who used her desire to elevate the African American community through improved health conditions to found the Aspiranto Health Home in 1931. The Aspiranto Health Home provided “socialized” health services to low-income African Americans in Philadelphia, often free of cost. Alexander dedicated her life to improving medical care for African American women, children, and families, many of whom otherwise would have been neglected.
6. Roscoe Conkling Brown Sr.
   • Roscoe Conkling Brown Sr. was a dentist and public health pioneer who served in various national organizations specializing in African American health. Brown also became a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s informal “Black Cabinet” to represent the specific needs of African Americans during the New Deal.
7. Dr. David Satcher
   • As Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Satcher led the department’s efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health, the initiative was incorporated as one of the two major goals of Healthy People 2010. In 2005, he was appointed to serve on the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health
8. Nancy Boyd-Franklin
   • Nancy Boyd-Franklin is a renowned psychologist and writer. Boyd-Franklin specializes in issues that affect Black families and communities, and she has been instrumental in creating new therapeutic approaches that address the mental health of Black Americans that also expand treatment options for this community. Her experience in the field led her to the conclusion that therapeutic treatment options for Black families needed to be socially, culturally, and economically sensitive.
9. Mae Jemison
   • Mae Jemison is an engineer and former NASA astronaut, as well as the first Black woman to travel to space. She is also a trained physician who has contributed greatly to global health and development! Jemison served in the Peace Corps as a medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and she founded The Jemison Group, Inc., which developed a telecommunications system to improve healthcare delivery in developing countries around the world.
10. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
    • Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is a virology immunologist who led the team that developed the Moderna COVID- 19 Vaccine. She grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina and attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for her undergraduate degree. In 2014, Dr. Corbett recieved her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She couldn’t have ever imagined the global impact her work would have just six short years later.

Axis Community Health, a leading provider of quality, affordable healthcare, is thrilled to announce the groundbreaking of its new clinic site on 2nd Street in Livermore. The new clinic site marks a major milestone for Axis Community Health, as it will provide crucial healthcare resources for the community. With all existing Axis sites operating at full capacity, including the Pleasanton clinic opened in 2016, the demand for accessible healthcare in the Tri-Valley region continues to grow. The waiting list for the Dublin dental clinic alone exceeds 1,200 individuals. The new site addresses this urgent need by significantly expanding services and capacity.

The state-of-the-art facility will accommodate 20,000 visits annually for approximately 5,600 patients. It will feature six dental operatories, six examination rooms, and dedicated offices for behavioral health services. The expanded clinic will enable Axis Community Health to provide comprehensive healthcare to even more individuals, improving the overall well-being of the Tri-Valley community.

“We are incredibly excited to begin renovations on our new clinic site in Livermore,” said Liz Perez-Howe, CEO of Axis Community Health. “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.

This event will formally kick off the capital campaign for the facility to raise the $1.3M in support needed to complete the project.

This community has been incredibly supportive of the work of Axis Community Health to bring the highest quality, patient-centered care to all residents of the Tri-Valley regardless of their ability to pay. This new facility is vital to meeting our residents’ needs, and our goal is to rally support to have this clinic open for services by the summer of 2024.”

The groundbreaking ceremony will feature notable speakers, including Axis CEO Liz Perez-Howe, Axis board chair James Paxson, Livermore Mayor John Marchand, Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown, and Supervisor David Haubert. Their presence at the event underscores the significance of this new clinic site and its impact on the Tri-Valley community.

On May 4, Axis Community Health hosted a 50^th anniversary party at its Pleasanton clinic which was attended by dozens of local officials and community supporters.  James Paxson, Board Chair, welcomed the guests to the celebration, and Sue Compton, CEO, provided a step-back in time with stories of Axis’s early days, including when the “lab” consisted of a rolling a wooden cart over the toilet in the patient bathroom.

Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan provided the keynote address, recognizing Axis for delivering quality, affordable healthcare services for the most vulnerable members of our community through the decades.  She also lauded Axis for its recent implementation of the innovative mental health urgent care service, called Axis Bridge.  Resolutions recognizing Axis were also presented by the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton, and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.