Health & Wellness News

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.

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.

A new resource for children with autism and their families opened in Bethlehem Township. The clinic offers evaluations that can lead to a diagnosis and treatment programs.

Makers of products like Children's Tylenol say they're trying to keep up with big demand as RSV, flu, and COVID spread. But medical experts note that kids' fevers don't always call for medicine.

A virtual community meeting held by the EPA Thursday had federal and state officials discussing the impact of the B. Braun sterilizer facility's ethylene oxide emission on the Allentown area and efforts to mitigate the pollution.

An Amazon fulfillment center in northeast Pa. is giving Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s hospital $25,000. The money comes from the Amazon Goes Gold campaign.

On World AIDS Day, three Lehigh Valley residents reflect on their role in helping fight the AIDS crisis at the height of the epidemic. One, a doctor, did not realize at the time he was treating the first patients in the Lehigh Valley with AIDS, let alone the extent of the impact the disease would have on the world.

The virtual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1, will address the risks of ethylene oxide and the B. Braun commercial sterilizer on Marcon Boulevard in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

Construction company Moyer Construction LLC is proposing a sober house at 3599 Broadway in South Whitehall Township, next to Cetronia Elementary School.

Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to be a day you worry about ruining your diet or health plan. Lehigh Valley nutritionists weigh in.

The USDA report does not include information about which commercial turkey farms were affected, but Jaindl recently reported an outbreak of the disease.

After long-term care facilities were hard hit by COVID outbreaks in the first two years of the pandemic, staff now say they've got a better handle on the situation.

Pennsylvania farmers are preparing for thousands of fresh turkeys to be picked up for the holiday meal.

Daniel Buglio will run for Lehigh County coroner, a job he was appointed to this spring.