Health & Wellness News

The Kindness Project expands into the Poconos as foster families need more resources to take in children. The non-profit offers free living essentials to kids in foster care.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is now scheduling appointments for the latest bivalent vaccine for kids as young as 5 years old. Parents have to make an appointment.

Bethlehem residents may soon be able to get permits to keep backyard chickens. Two committees agreed the concept is a good one, but some officials still worry about the spread of avian disease and other issues.

80 boxes were packed and handed out to kids across the Wilson Area School District.

Dr. Jose R. Torradas explains how the difference might look subtle, but Spanish-speaking doctors can make for more efficient and compassionate medicine.

Monkeypox is getting a name change in parts of the country, but the change has not made its way to the Lehigh Valley yet. New York City’s health department recently announced it now will refer to the infectious viral disease as MPV.

The Lehigh Valley now has one-stop shop for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. St. Luke's University Health Network opened the first clinic of this kind in the country.

Two Allentown doctors who helped treat more than a dozen carbon monoxide-poisoned kids in are now sharing the story.

High levels of CO sent 32 children and adults to hospitals Tuesday in what officials term a 'mass casualty' event. Exposure was caused by a malfunctioning heating unit and blocked vents, officials said.

Hurricane ravaged Florida continues to get help from Red Cross volunteers from the Lehigh Valley. One Lehigh County woman said she’s been asked to extend her two-week deployment, as more help is needed.

An incident at an Allentown daycare shines a light on the importance of preventing and detecting carbon monoxide poisoning.

October 10 is designated as World Mental Health Day. Established in 1992 to reduce the stigma towards individuals with mental health conditions, this year's theme is “Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority.”

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.

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.