PLEASANTON — A new type of urgent care clinic could be opening soon in the Tri-Valley — one for people in need of immediate mental health help.

The Tri-Valley cities of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore are considering going in together to fund such a center.

Both the Pleasanton and Dublin city councils agreed to help fund the new programing at their Tuesday meetings; the Livermore council will consider it later this month. The program would be run by Axis Community Health, with plans to eventually run it out of their existing clinic offices on West Los Positas Boulevard in Pleasanton.

The urgent care center would serve as a type of triage for mental health crises. A patient undergoing mental distress would first call the center, and someone would then direct them to an appropriate professional, or schedule an appointment based on their need.

This could also be helpful for the family of a person having a mental health issue. Instead of calling police, who can place people to be evaluated in a 72-hour psychiatric hold (called a “5150”), families could have the center evaluate their loved one.

“Police are great at what they do, but (a 5150 hold) is never a really long-term solution,” said Axis Community Health CEO Sue Compton in an interview.

Trained therapists and psychiatrists instead would be better suited to help the person in need and evaluate what can be done, she said.

All three cities, in an agreement with Axis, would pay no more than $321,495 in total for the startup cost and first year of the project; each city would pay an equal one-third share. Axis is also expected to receive a grant from Alameda County Behavioral Health for $250,000, although Compton said it’s not yet been put on the Board of Supervisors agenda for approval. The grant would reduce the cost each city would pay for the pilot program to about $23,800 each.

The need for mental health services has increased “dramatically” in the past decade in the Tri-Valley, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only escalated things further, Compton said. Health care professionals, law enforcement and even schools agree that this needs to be addressed before it reaches a breaking point, according to the city of Dublin staff report. Although resources do exist, delays in getting appointments can result in calls to 911, trips to the emergency room or involuntary psychiatric holds.

So Axis approached the three cities with the concept of the pilot program.

Although Axis currently focuses its services on low-income residents or uninsured people, even those with insurance are facing barriers to care, she said. Patients might find a long waitlist, and when a crisis happens, a three-month waiting period to get an appointment can be too long, Compton said.

“We want to give families a lifeline,” she said.

The urgent care center won’t necessarily be a long-term solution, but at least will help close a gap in services, a type of “landing place,” as patients seek services from their providers, if they have one. The center can provide counseling services and trauma treatment, or conduct psychological assessments.

If approved by all three cities, the program is expected to start July 1 and will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. and will be available to everyone above the age of 5. The center is expected to serve about 500 patients in one year and will be for individuals, couples and even families.

Patients will not be charged for the service, and insurance will not be billed. However, if patients have Medi-Cal and are already assigned to Axis, they will be billed for those visits.

For now, patients can expect some level of service through telehealth — online or over-the- phone appointments or assessments. Compton said even post-pandemic, she expects telemedicine to continue in some degree, as patients seem to have adapted to it and enjoy the convenience.