Health & Wellness News

1 in 4 menstruating students in the Allentown School District have missed class time because of the lack of access to period products. Funding for free menstrual products for students was approved in the 2024-2025 state budget.

The merger of Lehigh Valley Health Network and Jefferson Health is now complete. The two closed the deal Thursday morning, creating a regional hospital system that oversees 30 hospitals and more than 700 outpatient care sites.

The Lehigh County coroner says the average age of people dying from suicide is getting older. He says his office is tracking the data in an effort to provide more outreach efforts.

Deli meat company Boar's Head has recalled 7 million more pounds of meats potentially affected by a listeria outbreak less than a week after the initial recall.

An Easton-area couple brought home numerous medals from the 2024 Transplant Games of America. They are among seven athletes from Northampton and Lehigh counties who participated.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a new law that will regulate pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. It's intended to save local pharmacies from closing and save patients money on prescription medications.

Allentown School District will partner with Valley Health Partners Community Vision Center during the 2024-25 academic year to offer students comprehensive eye exams. More than 2,300 students failed vision tests last year.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild touted her bill that she says would protect fertility rights. She held a news conference at the nation's Capitol on World IVF Day this week.

According to Oasis founder Rhonda Miller, the nonprofit agency has assisted around 3,800 participants annually in various groups, programs and events. That number represents about 500 unique families, she said.

Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton have teamed up with Lehigh Valley Health Network to make the Lehigh Valley a Blue Zone. The initiative was launched this week and will take the next few years to earn the certification.

Lehigh Valley Health Network opens an employee child care center in Bethlehem, across from LVHN Muhlenberg. The River Crossing YMCA will run the program.

A physician response vehicle is now on the roads of the Lehigh Valley to help save lives on the scene of an emergency. The SUV and the team that operates it assist paramedics with critical cases outside the hospital setting.

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.

The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.

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.