Health & Wellness News

Members of Easton's Blueprint Communities organization announced their first project, a mural at Chubby's honoring South Side's past, present, and future, on Monday afternoon.

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.

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.

The 5th annual Pa. Latino Convention was held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Allentown.

The monkeypox outbreak has similarities to the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, but how do the two compare? Lehigh Valley health experts weigh in on how the viruses differ.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and other officials gathered Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to help OraSure Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of point-of-care diagnostic tests and specimen collection devices, celebrate its new Lehigh Valley location.

A Red Cross volunteer from Danielsville is heading to Florida to help after Hurricane Ian. She will assist people with mental health needs, helping them to "process the immediate aftermath" following the category 4 storm.

Those in the Southern hemisphere saw a more intense flu season this year, which could mean the same for the United States, said Dr. Alex Benjamin, chief infection control and prevention officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Lehigh County residents can call the warmline for mental health needs.

Residents came to learn about the causes, risks, and treatment for a common dangerous condition in the first of the Macungie Institute's heart health lecture series.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is now recommending that all adults under age 65 get routine anxiety screenings. We explain what that means for you and why some doctors say this is a good change.

Bethlehem residents told city council they're concerned about an odor suspected to be coming from a nearby business.

Places that pay for plasma have popped up in the Lehigh Valley. Are they negatively impacting donations at volunteer centers?

The Veterans Hub of Northeastern PA has started offering counseling for veterans every Wednesday at a new clinic at St. Luke's Lehighton campus.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Jeffrey Jahre says the booster is safe, but still questions its effectiveness.