Health & Wellness News

The Allentown branch of the Greater Valley YMCA is set to reopen following a fire last summer. Services are limited, but plans for more programming are on the way.

Hanover Twp., Northampton County's board of supervisors approved a 144-bed behavioral health hospital built and operated by Lehigh Valley Health Network and health care behemoth Universal Health Services.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is using new robotic technology in an effort to perform more precise surgeries. The da Vinci 5 surgical system is said to keep surgeons more comfortable, so they can better perform the surgery.

A practice that was always used to begin or end a workout is now being used as its own exercise form. The Stretch Lab in South Whitehall Township is an assisted stretch studio with certified flexologists.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, held a roundtable discussion with veterans groups and doctors to talk about IVF and accessibility for those who served.

A lab dedicated to the treatment of hematologic cancers is now open in Allentown. A generous donation helped the cellular therapy lab come into fruition at HNL Lab Medicine.

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation will host its second annual Innovation Summit this weekend. The one-day event offers a chance for those in the health care industry to learn about the latest technology in their field.

Financial assistance is on the way to help a Lehigh Valley nonprofit that assists women who have been sex trafficked. Bloom for Women can now make upgrades to the housing they offer and begin providing services to men and children with the money.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry is alerting consumers of scammers selling sunglasses to view the eclipse on April 8 that do not protect one's eyes from potentially permanent damage.

Lehigh County is pulling the Child Advocacy Center, which serves children who may have been abused, out of Lehigh Valley Health Network. The new center may lack a medical specialist in the field.

A local oncologist is giving some insight into the cancer diagnosis of Kate Middleton. The St. Luke's doctor specializes in gastrointestinal cancers and talks about what the Princess of Wales could be experiencing.

As Miller-Keystone Blood Center is set to no longer be the primary supplier of one of its largest customers, supporters are speaking out about what the nonprofit center has done for them. Blood donors, recipients and coordinators are sharing their life-saving stories.

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.