Health & Wellness News

Our daily list of useful information, chosen to inform and enhance your day, includes news you can use and then some!

The Lehigh Valley will host a marathon for the first time since the pandemic started. Registration will open this month for the St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest.

Lehigh Valley Health Network was victimized in a cybersecurity attack last month. The network said it refused to pay a ransom. Now, patient information and photos have been posted on the dark web, according to LVHN.

Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced $52.5 million in grants intended to prevent suicide. Named for Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox, the suicide prevention grant program is now in its second year. Its goal is to fund community-based organizations that work with veterans and their families. Last year, the VA gave awards to three groups in Pennsylvania, including more than $530,000 to St. Luke’s Penn Foundation in Carbon County. Eighty recipients won awards nationwide in the program’s first year. Grant applications are due by May 19 with awards expected to be announced in September. Selected organizations will receive funding for 2024. More information on how to apply is available at mentalhealth.va.gov.

Drug shortages seem to be a big issue in the wake of the pandemic. Children's pain medication and other prescriptions have been hard to get in the past few months because of supply chain issues.

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 8, would remove out-of-pocket costs and require 100% coverage for preventative breast cancer screenings and genetic testing. Proponents say it would be the first of its kind in the nation.

Starting Monday, March 6, Lehigh Valley Health Network will no longer require coronavirus face masks for the public inside hospitals and health care facilities in areas not associated with patient care.

Musician James Casey talks to a Lehigh Valley company about his fight with colon cancer. He is using his platform to tell others about the importance of getting screened.

Toastique, whose founder is a Lehigh Valley native, is finally coming to Bethlehem.

Many school nurses say the pandemic made them feel burned out, stressed out, and exhausted. Now, some are working to catch up on work that didn't get done during that time.

Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, missed votes in Congress this week as a result of her condition. Her office's communications director made the announcement on social media.

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s hospital just expanded its inpatient pediatric unit from 30 beds to 50. The expansion comes on the heels of a severe respiratory season.

Homeless shelters in Allentown and Bethlehem are doing all they can to stay open and keep people out of freezing temperatures even as COVID-19 surges and shutdowns go into effect.

The United Way of the Great Lehigh Valley offering workshops for educators to deal with the stresses of remote learning

Pennsylvanians are getting their first doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine today. Tens of thousands more are expected this week. And health care workers in the Lehigh Valley will be among the first in line.

People are washing their hands more than ever to fight the spread of coronavirus. That, coupled with the onset of winter, may cause skin to dry out, itch and crack.

If you’re planning on going skiing in the region this season, don’t forget your car. You may need it for more than you think. WLVR’s Haley O’Brien visited a resort in Berks County that’s making some changes.

The poverty rate in the United States has steadily increased since the summer. As more people slip into poverty, it's difficult for experts to estimate how many will recover financially after the pandemic ends.

All Bethlehem and Northampton Area School schools are going fully remote this Monday and won’t return to in-person learning until at least January 11th.

The state’s so-called COVID testing “strike team” that descended on Northampton County last week has moved on. The initiative provides services in areas with surging coronavirus cases.

The Lehigh Valley may run out of intensive care hospital beds as early as next week, as coronavirus cases continue to spike in the region.

Current state guidelines say schools should move to 100% virtual instruction in counties with “substantial transmission” rates. But many Lehigh Valley schools remain open, despite meeting that standard.

More than half the Commonwealth’s counties were moved to the high level of COVID alert - known as substantial spread. Local health experts say they are quote “praying” hospitalizations don't rise to the levels seen in the spring.

The post went viral on Facebook, falsely claiming that hunters are required to wear $30 fluorescent orange face masks featuring the state Game Commission's logo.