Health & Wellness News

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.

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

St. Luke's University Health Network cut the ribbon on their new Women and Babies Pavilion and Oncology center in upper Bucks County. This will expand services to women and babies as well as those going through cancer treatments.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact or that you might want to look at again.

Local Lehigh Valley colleges are confronting the risk of infection for students studying overseas and traveling for spring break.

The Pennsylvania Health Department may start conducting its own lab tests for the coronavirus later this week. Currently the CDC is handling all testing for the virus. 

There are no cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania. But officials across the Lehigh Valley are getting ready as cases pop up in a handful of other states. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is saying it’s not a matter of if, but when more cases are diagnosed here in the United States.