Health & wellness
BY CHLOE YOUNG
Health & Wellness Edition 2026
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Health & Wellness Edition! Happy New Year! I hope your 2026 is o to a happy and healthy start. In this special Health & Wellness issue, you’ll nd the latest news, updates, and resources related to health & wellness in the Northwest Austin area and beyond. The top trending story on our website as of press time is a Q&A with Board Certi ed Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Sharma (Page 14). Happy reading!
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What's inside
See the latest on ve new racket venues (Page 13)
Learn more about roller derby group Texas Rollergirls (Page 18)
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Texas Children’s Hospital launches rst Austin-based pediatric helicopter
Texas Children’s Hospital in North Austin has become the rst pediatric hospital to have its own helicopter based in Austin. The helicopter will allow Texas Children’s Hos- pital to provide faster critical care to more patients across Central Texas. “[The helicopter] represents Texas Children’s long-term investment in this region and a commit- ment to bringing world-class pediatric, neonatal and maternal care closer to home,” said Je Shilt, Texas Children’s president of Austin and Central Texas, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 12. How it works Texas Children’s can pick up patients from com- munity hospitals needing specialized pediatric care and transport them to the North Austin hospital. After receiving a call at its transfer center, Texas
Children’s can connect the referring hospital to a sub-specialist who will create a personalized patient care plan, said Brian Barnett, Texas Children’s director of transport and transfer center. The mobile intensive care unit is operated by Texas Children’s Kangaroo Crew of registered nurses and respiratory therapists who can begin providing ICU therapies to stabilize patients at their bedside before arriving at the hospital, Barnett said. The transport team can respond to most critical illnesses, including respiratory illness, seizures and trauma, experienced by a wide range of ages from 22-week-old babies to teenagers and young adults in their adolescent years. Later this summer or fall, Texas Children’s plans to launch a larger, more advanced helicopter at its North Austin hospital with the ability to travel farther distances, Barnett said.
Texas Children’s o cials celebrated the launch of the pediatric hospital system’s rst helicopter in Austin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 12.
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Texas Children's Hospital North Austin Campus
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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION
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