Lydia McFarlane | WVIA News
Multimedia Healthcare ReporterLydia McFarlane joined the news team in 2024 as an intern after graduating from Villanova University with a dual Bachelor's degree in communication and political science. She became the team’s dedicated healthcare reporter. Her beat covers hospitals, mental health, policy and most importantly, people.
Lydia brings a diversity of experience from previous internships at Resolve Philadelphia, Education Week, The Hill, Open Secrets and Teen Vogue and from her role as a news editor at her college’s publication, The Villanovan.
At WVIA, Lydia was part of the winning team that contributed to the second-place award for Excellence in Reporting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from the Keystone Professional Media Awards organized by the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association. Her story ‘A South Wilkes-Barre spin on Dominican Republic breakfast’ was part of the winning package.
Wilkes-Barre born and raised, Lydia's grateful for the opportunity to come home and learn more about her community as a reporter within it. She's honored to start her career in NEPA-- the place that taught her everything she knows. You can reach Lydia at lydiamcfarlane@wvia.org or 570-602-1187.
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Scranton City Council voted Tuesday to approve Geisinger’s zoning changes that will allow for its expansion in the city. -
Mehmet Oz, also known by his television persona ‘Dr. Oz,' visited Scranton in his role as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator with U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan to talk about federal efforts to address health care shortages and costs. Sen. Dave McCormick, meanwhile, visited the Wyoming County Healthcare Center in Tunkhannock to tour the facility and meet executive leadership. -
December 1, 2025– Toyota of Scranton will host a blood drive tomorrow in honor of Giving Tuesday, to raise money and fortify blood donations in support of two employees’ family members. The state budget has a new fund for neurodegenerative disease research, and a Lackawanna County lawmaker helped lead the charge. And, a Luzerne County nonprofit brings together the region’s older adults and disadvantaged with soup. -
On this week's News Voices, WVIA's Roger DuPuis and Lydia McFarlane talk about the No One Dies Alone program, which partners Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students with patients at Allied Services Hospice facilities in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. -
State Rep. Kyle Mullins’ father died from ALS in 2022. That loss motivated him to fight for neurodegenerative disease research through legislative action. He helped secure $5 million in the state budget for research on neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. -
Geisinger Life Flight 3, based at the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton International Airport, or AVP, recently celebrated one year at its new hangar, built from the ground up with COVID-19 grants. The team works with Geisinger’s other Life Flight bases across the region to transport more than 400 patients each month by ground and through air. -
Luzerne County Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved Tenor Health Foundation's financing proposal to purchase Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, part of a larger deal under which Tenor would buy three Commonwealth Health hospitals in Northeast Pennsylvania. -
The Luzerne County Council is set to vote on a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, Agreement as well as Tenor Health System’s financing plan for Wilkes-Barre General Hospital at this evening’s council meeting. -
Medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine volunteer to sit with hospice patients at Allied Services’ hospice centers in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton through the No One Dies Alone program. -
NEWS VOICES: People with Parkinson's disease fight back, find community at Northeast Pa. boxing gymsOn this week's News Voices, WVIA's Sarah Scinto and Lydia McFarlane discuss Rock Steady Boxing, two gyms in Northeast Pennsylvania that help people with Parkinson's fight back against the disease's progression.
