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Galveston County has seen an increase in mental health providers, including psychologists, counselors and therapists, but access to care remains complex.

The overview: Access to mental health care providers, measured by the ratio of residents per provider, has improved in Galveston County since 2021, reflecting statewide and national trends, data shows. However, access to care is also influenced, and can be limited, by factors including insurance coverage, cost and scheduling, said Andrea Usanga, chief strategy and innovation officer for Mental Health America of Greater Houston. 

The cost: Therapy costs in Galveston County vary by provider and treatment type, from lower-cost telehealth or intern services to higher rates for experienced clinicians.

In the classroom: Kristina Ford, Clear Creek ISD's director of counseling and student services, said counseling services help students manage academic and personal challenges while connecting families with outside support when needed.

With a goal to provide patients with same-day care with zero wait times at little to no cost, Gemini Urgent Care’s Medical Director Dr. Sajid Khan was led to open the doors to Gemini Urgent Care to serve Houston’s southeast area.

The gist: After opening his first location in Clear Lake 2023, Khan opened another location in Friendswood in 2025, and most recently, a new location in League City in April.

Diving in deeper: Khan holds experience as a board certified emergency medicine physician for nearly 20 years. With that, he noted emergency rooms are “often overcrowded, expensive and designed for true life-threatening emergencies.”

“This leads to excessively long wait times for patients with urgent or routine medical needs,” he said. “On the other side, patients struggle to get a same-day appointment with their primary care doctor, especially for unexpected illnesses or injuries. With Gemini Urgent Care, our patients love having the ability to walk in same-day, have zero wait time, have little to no cost, and be on their way.”

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out five trending stories in the Greater Houston area from June 8-12.

1. Vegetarian restaurant Simply South to open in Katy
2. EVO Entertainment is coming to Fulshear next year
3. New and upcoming stores in The Woodlands Mall
4. Doctors on inaugural year of Houston Methodist Willowbrook’s new OB-GYN residency
5. Katy ISD will use two stadiums for future graduations

As the 2026-27 school year nears, the number of people selected to participate in Texas’ education savings account program has topped 100,000.

The overview: To date, just over 102,000 students have been accepted into the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, which gives families state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them.

However, being awarded funds does not mean a student is guaranteed to be able to use that money at a participating private school this fall.

Zooming in: Over 2,600 private schools have been approved to accept TEFA funding, per the state comptroller's office. State law does not require schools participating in the program to accept all interested families.

Next steps: Families accepted into the program have until July 15 to do one of the following:

• Confirm enrollment at a private school involved in the program
• Notify the state of their homeschooling plans
• Opt out of the program