Health & Wellness News

Lehigh Valley Health Network plans to merge with Jefferson Health, but deals like this are nothing new to the Philadelphia-based system. For nearly a decade, Jefferson has been combining forces with hospitals in two states.

Getting physical and mental health in check is a popular new year resolution. Lehigh Valley health leaders are explaining how they plan to accomplish their goals for 2024.

Getting healthier in the new year is popular resolution, but sticking to it is the hard part. An Allentown woman is sharing how she kept with her fitness goal, even through a life-threatening diagnosis.

Canine experts emphasize how dangerous and, in some cases, deadly, human foods can be to dogs.

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

Lehigh Valley Health Network and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals announced plans to merge this week. A healthcare analyst weighs in on what these types of deals mean for employees and patients.

If ultimately completed, the combined health care system would operate 30 hospitals and more than 700 outpatient sites, with more than 62,000 employees, according to LVHN and Jefferson Health.

Pa.'s governor wants more students to take advantage of the universal free breakfast program in schools across the state. He is challenging administrators to promote the program and increase participation.

A respiratory illness is plaguing dogs in 16 states, including Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Valley Humane Society is weighing in on the signs and symptoms of the virus.

News Director Jen Rehill talks to reporters Will Oliver and Brittany Sweeney.

A new hospital in the St. Luke’s University Health Network is now open. The ribbon was cut on the orthopedic hospital Wednesday and patients will start being seen at the South Whitehall Township location next week.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium and thorium in soil and rocks.

LVHN will be one of the first hospitals in Pennsylvania to treat prostate cancer with noninvasive robotic technology. The procedure is said to be more accurate and lowers the risk of side effects.

The tripledemic rages on, but there are ways to lower your risk of infection. A health care administrator talks about what the industry and the public learned from the pandemic about preventing illness.

Medical experts say recent legislation could help reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Pennsylvania.

County Executive Lamont McClure previously said he intended to pursue a no-bid contract with New Jersey-based Integrity Health.

Lehigh County will be funding free walk-in mental health services administered by KidsPeace.

Denise Snyder founded St. Luke’s Nurses Honor Guard for those dedicated to the profession.

Grants of up to $400,000 that focus on addiction treatment services for communities that were hard-hit by the opioid epidemic will be awarded later this year.

The program focuses on the risks of overdose from fentanyl-laced pills and other drugs. It's the county’s first funded with money from a settlement with opioid manufacturers and retailers.

A mom is releasing a book hoping to give hope to other parents following her infant’s cancer journey in the Lehigh Valley. Shari Ann Almeida’s daughter Dakota was diagnosed with leukemia at 6-months-old.

Millions saw Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffer cardiac arrest on the football field. Now, Lehigh Valley residents are learning how to use AED machines and perform chest compressions.

The rule was published earlier this month and applies to all 3,117 water systems. Both chemicals belong to the group of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, which are used in products such as nonstick cookware, carpets, firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers.