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.

Pennsylvania is preparing to ease COVID restrictions this weekend. Bars and restaurants can serve alcohol without food, lift curfews and increase capacity. But the move comes as COVID cases are on the rise and service employees may not be vaccinated yet.

Research in a growing scientific field called ecotherapy at Harvard University shows activities like walking in the woods can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Even a few minutes outside can do the trick.

Bethlehem-based OraSure Technologies has submitted its new rapid COVID home test for U.S Food and Drug Administration emergency approval.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently decided to allocate COVID-19 vaccines to providers who can get the greatest amount of shots administered.

Transgender individuals in the Lehigh Valley have a new resource if they are struggling to get by.

So far, 55,000 teachers and school staff members have been vaccinated throughout Pennsylvania, since Gov.Tom Wolf launched a push to prioritize educators earlier this month.

An increasing number of women going for their annual mammogram are showing signs of inflammation these days. Doctors now believe the COVID-19 vaccine has something to do with it.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey took to the Senate floor on March 3 to speak out in opposition to the Democrat-backed $2 trillion stimulus package.

Gov. Tom Wolf is rolling out a plan to vaccinate teachers and school workers but the Diocese of Allentown said on March 3 that it opposes the use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, calling it “morally compromised.”

Pennsylvania health officials on March 4 announced more details about how they plan to get COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of teachers and school employees.

Microplastic contaminants have been found in 53 waterways in Pennsylvania, including in the Lehigh River, according to clean water advocacy group PennEnvironment.

Pennsylvania teachers and school staff are now eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines. The state will use Johnson & Johnson one-shot doses in an effort to get schools open again.