Health & Wellness News

Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Proposed federal budget cuts would impact programs such as the free summer meal program for children in the Allentown School District.

The $2.75 million payment to the federal government resolves allegations that a pharmacy technician stole controlled substances on about 40 occasions and the health network failed to institute proper controls.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

A generous donation from a Lehigh Valley native and others funds free swim lessons for children and adults in the River Crossing YMCA's Safety Around Water, or SAW, swim education program.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

With the Lehigh Valley under an extreme heat warning through Wednesday, area doctors are urging residents to keep hydrated and stay cool.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this week. If passed, millions of Americans would lose access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in order to fund border security and tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered the statewide shutdown of all nonessential government offices and businesses to help prevent spread of coronavirus.

SALISBURY TWP.. Pa. - The area’s two largest health care providers announced on Sunday that they will jointly ban visitors to most area hospitals. The…

Starting today, there are more locations open for coronavirus testing in the Lehigh Valley. A new center opened by Lehigh Valley Health Network brings the total to eight.

Bethlehem has its first confirmed case of the coronavirus. It’s the second case in the Lehigh Valley, after a Northampton County person tested positive last week.

Live Coverage: Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley BETHLEHEM, Pa. - This post will be updated periodically with information about the coronavirus. Scroll…

Lehigh Valley nursing homes and long term care facilities are taking action to safeguard residents from exposure to the coronavirus.

A Lower Providence Township police officer is the latest presumptive positive case of coronavirus in Montgomery County.

Colleges in Lehigh Valley and across the state are responding to the threat of coronavirus by canceling in-person classes and moving coursework online following spring break.

All schools in the Allentown School District and the Easton Arts Academy are closed today and tomorrow amid concerns around the coronavirus. Multiple sources are reporting the Easton case is related to a student’s travel to New York.

With thousands of kids home from school because of closures in the Philadelphia area, parents are worried about when it’s time to go back.

Pennsylvania now has 10 presumed cases of the coronavirus, mostly in the Philadelphia area.

At the Shamrock Reins farm in Bucks County, WLVR’s K.C. Lopez reports organizers are working on prevention -- using equine therapy.