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.

President Donald Trump signed the latest federal stimulus bill yesterday, but federal unemployment benefits may still be delayed for recipients. In the interim, WLVR’s Brittany Sweeney has more on other Pennsylvania resources for people struggling to make ends meet.

Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, Dr. Rachel Levine says more than 40,000 healthcare workers have received Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine and tens of thousands of more doses are on the way - including the new vaccine from Moderna.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has brought forward two bills that would provide training to help police officers in dealing with individuals with mental illness as well as enacting a program to help reduce calls to 911 in non-emergency situations.

All K-12 sports and after school activities are on pause until January 4 following Governor Wolf’s latest mitigation efforts. WLVR’s Genesis Ortega has more on what this means for Lehigh Valley student athletes.

More than 17,000 Pennsylvania healthcare workers have received COVID vaccines. Tens of thousands more will be vaccinated in the coming weeks. But social distancing and mask-wearing are still needed, even if you get a shot.

Lehigh Valley hospitals began giving COVID-19 vaccines yesterday. WLVR’s Ben Stemrich was at Lehigh Hospital Cedar Crest and spoke to one of the first nurses who got the shot.

COVID-19 vaccines arrived today in the Lehigh Valley - and the first shots have been given - marking an historic turning point for the Valley’s fight against the virus.

Homeless shelters in Allentown and Bethlehem are doing all they can to stay open and keep people out of freezing temperatures even as COVID-19 surges and shutdowns go into effect.

The United Way of the Great Lehigh Valley offering workshops for educators to deal with the stresses of remote learning

Pennsylvanians are getting their first doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine today. Tens of thousands more are expected this week. And health care workers in the Lehigh Valley will be among the first in line.

People are washing their hands more than ever to fight the spread of coronavirus. That, coupled with the onset of winter, may cause skin to dry out, itch and crack.

If you’re planning on going skiing in the region this season, don’t forget your car. You may need it for more than you think. WLVR’s Haley O’Brien visited a resort in Berks County that’s making some changes.