Health & Wellness News

'American Hospitals: Healing A Broken System' is a documentary about the rising cost of hospital care. A businessman and filmmaker, both from the Lehigh Valley, produced the film that can be screened in Bethlehem this month.

An egg hunt was held for visually impaired children this week. The Allentown Fire Department Bomb Squad and Sights for Hope teamed up for the event.

The offices that help Pennsylvanians keep their Medicaid benefits are facing persistent vacancies and a heavy workload. Advocates and staff fear people could lose coverage as a result.

The state Department of Health has set forth a 5 year plan to improve the health of PA residents. The plan includes everything from nutrition to health equity.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released the results of the agency's "7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment." Pennsylvania ranked only behind Florida, Illinois and Ohio for the most lead service lines.

Parents and teens say bathroom access at Building 21 is unpredictable as many of the facilities are closed all day at times.

The City of Allentown is recognizing employees who have dedicated years of service to the health bureau during National Public Health Week. Employees from different sectors will be recognized for their work.

A new dental robot in the Lehigh Valley makes getting an implant faster and more precise. A robot referred to as “Yomi” is the first of its kind for oral surgery.

Breakaway Bierfest and the Easton Twilight Criterium have two events this May that will give bike lovers in the Lehigh Valley a reason to celebrate.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after six weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, with plans to return to the Senate in mid-April.

Congress eliminated emergency SNAP payments, which provided thousands of Lehigh Valley families with extra financial support amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pennsylvania residents enrolled in the state's Medicaid program are urged to verify their enrollment status before federal changes impact renewals in April.

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.