Health & wellness
BY HALEY VELASCO
Health & Wellness Edition 2025
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Health & Wellness Edition! This brand new guide features the latest updates and resources on health and wellness in your community. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists. In this year’s edition, we provide information on the blood supply both in Brazoria County and the country overall. O cials said they often see a decline in donations during the winter months and recent trends show that remains the case. We also o er readers a guide to local gyms and tness centers across the Pearland- Friendswood area, which provides information on services, classes, pricing and membership options at each facility. This year’s cover story details the e ort from local o cials to bring a mental health hospital to Brazoria County, which, if funding is approved by the state, would be the rst of its kind in the county. Finally, we have a statewide story about those who are uninsured in the state of Texas, how it compares to other states and what is being done to solve the challenge.
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O cials look to up blood donations amid declining supply
As the demand for blood rises over the holiday season, o cials have observed that blood donations tend to decline during the winter. Current situation Blood donations are used for trauma care—spe- ci cally patients who are involved in accidents, chemotherapy and burn victims, said Cameron Palmer, the public relations specialist for the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is a blood donation center that caters the Greater Houston area, including Pearland and Friendswood. The blood center hosts over 7,000 blood drives in the Greater Houston area each year, with high schools and universities playing a key role in mobile collec- tions, Palmer said. Blood donations are especially needed as more people travel and become prone to accidents, which Palmer said is typically during the holiday season. Traveling also leads to fewer donations, he said.
A closer look In order for the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to have a maintainable amount of blood supply, Palmer said the center must administer 1,000 blood donations per day, and the center strives to have a 3-day blood supply. Palmer said this can be challenging at times since many regular donors are traveling during the holiday season. It’s also common to see blood supplies drop during summer as well. High schools and universi- ties mainly contribute to mobile collections, which are less available when school is out, Palmer said. Severe weather events can also impact donor turnout, Palmer said. Nationally, nonpro t humanitarian organization American Red Cross last January declared an emer- gency blood shortage, citing the lowest numbers of people giving over the past two decades, according to a Jan. 7, 2024 news release.
Blood donations in the United States
6.8 million people donate blood in the U.S. every year 13.6 million units * of whole blood and red blood cells collected in a year in the U.S. 40% fewer people are donating blood compared to 20 years ago 3 units in an average red blood cell transfusion, with a single car accident needing as many as 100 units
*1 UNIT OF BLOOD IS ROUGHLY A PINT
SOURCE: AMERICAN RED CROSS COMMUNITY IMPACT
“Blood donations, they help save lives. ... There’s so many di erent reasons why people need blood.” CAMERON PALMER, PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST, GULF COAST REGIONAL BLOOD CENTER
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