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.

Thirteen western counties, comprising nearly 2.7 million residents and most of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, will see relief from Gov. Tom Wolf’s most restrictive pandemic orders on movement and businesses this Friday, May 15.

Although there is cause for concern if they should become established on the continent — the so-called “Murder Hornet” is not an issue for people in the Lehigh Valley, according to experts.

The current moratorium was scheduled to end Monday but the governor has extended it to July 10. WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports state officials are asking landlords to be patient.

Protection from evictions for renters from the state may be ending, in some areas as early as next week. Chloe Nouvelle reports on what this could mean for tenants in the Lehigh Valley.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf says he has a plan to create more jobs in the state while also helping to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism may go without essential care if the agencies that support them don’t get an influx of cash soon from the state in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

And as WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports, as the state moves to reopen, high rates of cases and deaths remain in the state’s long term-care facilities.

Pennsylvania’s primary election is four weeks from Tuesday, May 5, but many questions remain about how to conduct a “fair and free election” during a pandemic.

Lehigh Valley Doctors are noticing fewer heart attack and stroke patients in their emergency rooms. But the worry is that people who need treatment are scared to visit.

Governor Tom Wolf plans to partially reopen some parts of the state on May 8. But, PA Post’s Ed Mahon, reports that’s not good enough for some GOP state lawmakers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has been accused of halting inspections at long-term care facilities during the coronavirus outbreak.

Many Lehigh Valley first responders are finding new ways to stay safe and keep working through the pandemic.