Health & Wellness News

The new roller coaster at Dorney Park is designed to feel dangerous, but a lot of safety testing goes into the ride before people can experience the thrill of Iron Menace.

The Boys & Girls Club of Allentown will host its 39th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament on Monday, May 6 at Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville. Proceeds benefit BCGA youth programs.

Pennsylvania's state departments are coming together to address maternal health and how to improve outcomes. The Shapiro administration hopes more funding to address the issue will be granted in the 2024-25 state budget.

A memorial sign dedication for the late Allentown Fire Department Assistant Chief Christopher Kiskeravage was held outside the Mack Southside Fire Department on Friday morning. A stretch of Lehigh Street outside the fire station is named in his honor.

Northampton County Council rejected a planned health clinic for county employees last July. On Wednesday, officials asked the body to approve the same plans.

An interactive presentation caught the attention of around 150 students at the Lehigh Valley DUI/Highway Safety Task Force annual conference. ThinkFast Interactive is an engaging team building program brought in to teach area high school students about different decision making scenarios.

The Shapiro administration is offering grants to community-based organizations to start regional maternal health coalitions. With maternal mortality on the rise, the governor is aiming to address the problem at the local level.

Kirkland Village celebrated their recent upgrades thanks to a grant from the Long-Term Care Transformation Office, with health officials detailing the importance of funding to keep long-term facilities at their best.

A ceremony to honor organ donors and recipients was held at St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Allentown Campus. Organ donation recipients, organ donor families, and the Gift of Life Donor Program came together with hospital employees to mark Donate Life Month.

The Allentown branch of the Greater Valley YMCA is set to reopen following a fire last summer. Services are limited, but plans for more programming are on the way.

Hanover Twp., Northampton County's board of supervisors approved a 144-bed behavioral health hospital built and operated by Lehigh Valley Health Network and health care behemoth Universal Health Services.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is using new robotic technology in an effort to perform more precise surgeries. The da Vinci 5 surgical system is said to keep surgeons more comfortable, so they can better perform the surgery.

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.

A regionwide wastewater plan and a hazard mitigation plan both advanced with staff review approvals by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night.

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.

The anti-violence program is funded through a $1.28 million grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The program will continue next school year.

The Neighborhood Center and Andre Reed Foundation are partnering to kick off the season with an event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at 344 N. 7th St.