Health & Wellness News

The US is mailing Americans COVID tests again. Here's how to get them

Hosted by LehighValleyNews.com health and wellness reporter Brittany Sweeney, the hourlong program covers the emergence, efficacy and availability of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes treatment. “A Community Conversation: New Weight Loss Meds, Cure or Craze?” airs at 6 p.m. on PBS39.

An art exhibit and auction are set to raise funds for a program that teaches children and adults about mindfulness. The Shanthi Project aims to use the funds to expand their programming in Lehigh Valley schools.

St. Luke's University Health Network is teaching parents where to look for drug paraphernalia and other dangerous substances in their teen's room. It's all part of their Drug Abuse and Recovery week.

September is recognized as a time to pay homage to service dogs and the guidance they provide. Lehigh County commissioners approved a resolution in support of guide dogs and their handlers.

The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley will hold its first Nonprofit Impact Conference on Oct. 23 at Wind Creek Bethlehem. The event will give nonprofit staff the chance to connect, network, and discover new resources.

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, she's joined by politics reporter Tom Shortell and health and wellness reporter Brittany Sweeney.

September is Fall Prevention Month. A Lehigh Valley handyman is sharing ways to lower the risk of falling at home before it's too late.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone announced Wednesday that two community health organizations will offer free and low-cost health screenings via mobile units on Oct.14.

The “Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission after the paint on the hoe and rake were found to contain lead levels exceeding the federal content ban.

Lehigh Valley Health Network and Capital Blue Cross rolled out a new mobile dental unit in Lehigh Valley. The van is equipped with two dental chairs to see children who need oral health care.

A local Boy Scout working on his Eagle Scout project is receiving grant money from Capital Blue Cross. His is one of a handful of initiatives receiving the money for community and educational projects.

Northampton County and Northampton Community College will offer a free workplace safety training later this month aimed at employees of municipal governments, nonprofits and similar organizations.

The funding, through the Livable Landscape program, was unanimously approved at the county council’s June 18 meeting.

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.