Irene Blanco, MD
@ireneblanco.bsky.social
Rheumatologist just trying to do a little bit of good.
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
"There was no access to a toilet, so guards told the women – whose accounts in some cases occurred on different days or different buses – to urinate or defecate on the floor... "
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Immigrant women describe 'hell on earth' in ICE detention
No shower for days, cameras trained on the toilet, women crammed into cells 'like sardines,' among the allegations.
www.usatoday.com
March 24, 2025 at 3:19 AM
"There was no access to a toilet, so guards told the women – whose accounts in some cases occurred on different days or different buses – to urinate or defecate on the floor... "
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
March 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
Am all for cost-effective care. I have worked w mostly Medicaid and Medicare patients my entire career and have squeezed blood from a stone...but don't put this on doctors! We don't know how much things cost. We don't know what the hospital charges. We have no SW or admin support. JFC
No patient should ever have to preemptively agree to pay whatever a provider charges, a medical debt expert said.
Under recent New York law, doctors would have to discuss treatment costs with patients. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Under recent New York law, doctors would have to discuss treatment costs with patients. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
In New York, Providers Must Put Patient Costs on the Table - KFF Health News
The governor’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget revises a law designed to limit unexpected bills that can put people at risk for unfair medical billing practices and reduce medical debt. Consumer grou...
kffhealthnews.org
March 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Am all for cost-effective care. I have worked w mostly Medicaid and Medicare patients my entire career and have squeezed blood from a stone...but don't put this on doctors! We don't know how much things cost. We don't know what the hospital charges. We have no SW or admin support. JFC
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
"I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped
I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 10:58 AM
"I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
I had to compose myself before posting—because this breaks a part of my soul.
If you’re a contractor with a segregation policy, say it loud—so non-white dollars don’t fund your business. It won’t go how you think.
And if anyone uncovers businesses doing this, put them on blast.
#NAACP #BlackSky
If you’re a contractor with a segregation policy, say it loud—so non-white dollars don’t fund your business. It won’t go how you think.
And if anyone uncovers businesses doing this, put them on blast.
#NAACP #BlackSky
March 19, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
Baseball media: if you do not loudly report on this I do not want to hear a goddamn thing from you about Jackie Robinson on April 15.
bsky.app/profile/fbih...
bsky.app/profile/fbih...
The Department of Defense deemed a story about baseball hero and civil rights leader Jackie Robinson's time in the Army as "DEI" and deleted it.
March 19, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Baseball media: if you do not loudly report on this I do not want to hear a goddamn thing from you about Jackie Robinson on April 15.
bsky.app/profile/fbih...
bsky.app/profile/fbih...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
They have now been sent to a brutal third world torture prison having done nothing but seeking asylum in the United States. That's it.
UNREAL. ICE implies in a sworn declaration that MOST of the Venezuelans sentenced to hard labor in a brutal Central American prison without charge or trial or so much as a cursory hearing had never been convicted or even charged with ANY CRIME whatsoever, not even a trivial one, anywhere, ever!
March 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
They have now been sent to a brutal third world torture prison having done nothing but seeking asylum in the United States. That's it.
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
Insulting.
Navajo Code Talkers were American heroes whose unbreakable code helped carry the U.S. to victory in WWII and saved countless lives.
www.axios.com/local/salt-l...
Navajo Code Talkers were American heroes whose unbreakable code helped carry the U.S. to victory in WWII and saved countless lives.
www.axios.com/local/salt-l...
March 17, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Insulting.
Navajo Code Talkers were American heroes whose unbreakable code helped carry the U.S. to victory in WWII and saved countless lives.
www.axios.com/local/salt-l...
Navajo Code Talkers were American heroes whose unbreakable code helped carry the U.S. to victory in WWII and saved countless lives.
www.axios.com/local/salt-l...
US born citizen snatched by ICE and held for 10h without a warrant or explanation. Once ICE realized he was a US citizen they let him go with no explanation. If he didn't have his ID he potentially would be in El Salvador @govpritzker.illinois.gov @duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
A US-born citizen was walking near Chicago in January. ICE snatched him off the street, handcuffed him, threw into a van. His wallet, which contained his ID, was confiscated. He was detained for 10 hours before being released without a record of what occurred.
immigrantjustice.org/sites/defaul...
immigrantjustice.org/sites/defaul...
March 17, 2025 at 10:53 PM
US born citizen snatched by ICE and held for 10h without a warrant or explanation. Once ICE realized he was a US citizen they let him go with no explanation. If he didn't have his ID he potentially would be in El Salvador @govpritzker.illinois.gov @duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
Valid visa and now gone. BTW, she was here to SAVE LIVES.
Doctor and Professor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
Doctor and Professor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
Brown University Professor and Doctor Are Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was expelled in apparent defiance of a court order.
www.nytimes.com
March 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Valid visa and now gone. BTW, she was here to SAVE LIVES.
Doctor and Professor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
Doctor and Professor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
This was the DOGE staffer who was previously fired for racist and nazi tweets but was brought back after JD Vance and Elon supported him.
www.yahoo.com/news/doge-st...
www.yahoo.com/news/doge-st...
DOGE Staffer Broke Treasury Rules in Transmitting Personal Data
(Bloomberg) -- A staffer for the Department of Government Efficiency violated Treasury Department policies when he sent a spreadsheet containing personal information to two other people in the Trump a...
www.yahoo.com
March 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This was the DOGE staffer who was previously fired for racist and nazi tweets but was brought back after JD Vance and Elon supported him.
www.yahoo.com/news/doge-st...
www.yahoo.com/news/doge-st...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
Why elite institutions MUST speak out.
March 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Why elite institutions MUST speak out.
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
This is blood-boiling. Charles Rogers was awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam after being wounded three times leading the defense of a position.
Google his name and the entry below comes up. When you click, you'll see the page has been deleted and the URL changed to include "DEI medal."
Google his name and the entry below comes up. When you click, you'll see the page has been deleted and the URL changed to include "DEI medal."
March 16, 2025 at 2:25 AM
This is blood-boiling. Charles Rogers was awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam after being wounded three times leading the defense of a position.
Google his name and the entry below comes up. When you click, you'll see the page has been deleted and the URL changed to include "DEI medal."
Google his name and the entry below comes up. When you click, you'll see the page has been deleted and the URL changed to include "DEI medal."
All lupus patients should push back on GSK stopping diversity efforts. Bad enough that they didn't include enough Black patients in the Benlysta clinical trial that they had to do another one. Diversity in trial participants and scientists produces better science
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
British pharma company GSK pauses diversity work citing Trump orders
London-based FTSE 100 firm reviewing its policies, saying it is obliged to comply because US is its No 1 market
www.theguardian.com
March 16, 2025 at 11:53 AM
All lupus patients should push back on GSK stopping diversity efforts. Bad enough that they didn't include enough Black patients in the Benlysta clinical trial that they had to do another one. Diversity in trial participants and scientists produces better science
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
A Fulbright scholar flees the county after ICE came looking for her - per NYT her social media activity was liking pro-Palestine posts.
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
March 16, 2025 at 1:44 AM
A Fulbright scholar flees the county after ICE came looking for her - per NYT her social media activity was liking pro-Palestine posts.
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
This transplant nephrologist at Brown has been deported after she went home for 2 weeks to see family for the first time since 2015. Detained at Logan & then flown to Paris despite an order she should stay in MA, she’s been sitting in a Paris detention center for a wk.
www.yahoo.com/news/brown-m...
www.yahoo.com/news/brown-m...
Brown Medicine doctor deported despite federal court order. What we know.
A court order that would have delayed the deportation of Dr. Rasha Alawieh was issued while her plane was on the runway, but it took off anyway.
www.yahoo.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:39 PM
This transplant nephrologist at Brown has been deported after she went home for 2 weeks to see family for the first time since 2015. Detained at Logan & then flown to Paris despite an order she should stay in MA, she’s been sitting in a Paris detention center for a wk.
www.yahoo.com/news/brown-m...
www.yahoo.com/news/brown-m...
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a nephrologist at Brown, was DEPORTED despite having a valid H1B visa. Tell me again how we are just "deporting criminals"?? There is a workforce shortage of physicians!!!
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Brown University professor held by customs officials at airport after travel to Lebanon
Serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
March 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a nephrologist at Brown, was DEPORTED despite having a valid H1B visa. Tell me again how we are just "deporting criminals"?? There is a workforce shortage of physicians!!!
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
The Trump administration has shut down the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Office of Equity Assurance, effectively hobbling internal VA efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities the department itself has acknowledged.
By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social
By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social
The Office That Investigates Disparities in Veterans’ Care Is Being “Liquidated”
The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged. “The consequences will be dire,…
propub.li
March 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The Trump administration has shut down the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Office of Equity Assurance, effectively hobbling internal VA efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities the department itself has acknowledged.
By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social
By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
A teacher in Idaho has been told to remove posters reading "Everyone is welcome here" - specifically because it features different skin tones. As I wrote last week, this is a global political movement that has explicitly set the goal of eradicating the very concept of equality.
West Ada teacher stands firm after she’s told to remove ‘Everyone is welcome here’ signs
Sarah Inama said she was told by administrators that her signs “don’t allow people to express differing opinions.”
www.idahostatesman.com
March 15, 2025 at 11:12 AM
A teacher in Idaho has been told to remove posters reading "Everyone is welcome here" - specifically because it features different skin tones. As I wrote last week, this is a global political movement that has explicitly set the goal of eradicating the very concept of equality.
This man has a green card. Has no warrants or legal issues. Was held at Logan, stripped naked and reportedly violently interrogated. Logan is where the h1b nephrologist is being held as well after coming back from seeing family. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN BOSTON?
www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...
www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...
Green card holder from New Hampshire 'interrogated' at Logan Airport, detained
Fabian Schmidt’s family said they are unsure of why he is being held. They said he has a recently renewed green card, and no active issues in court.
www.nhpr.org
March 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
This man has a green card. Has no warrants or legal issues. Was held at Logan, stripped naked and reportedly violently interrogated. Logan is where the h1b nephrologist is being held as well after coming back from seeing family. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN BOSTON?
www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...
www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
these are our party leaders now, ignore all other opinions
March 15, 2025 at 1:54 PM
these are our party leaders now, ignore all other opinions
Brown H1B nephrologist is being held at Logan after going to see her family in Lebanon. Apparently got visa and was good to go. Not being allowed to d/w counsel. Please amplify
They're trying to deport my colleague from the med school and holding her without counsel. She was coming back from a visit to her family. If there are ways to help I'll let you know. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...
She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh flew into Logan Airport Thursday after visiting family in Lebanon. She's being detained now at Logan without legal counsel.
www.providencejournal.com
March 15, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Brown H1B nephrologist is being held at Logan after going to see her family in Lebanon. Apparently got visa and was good to go. Not being allowed to d/w counsel. Please amplify
Reposted by Irene Blanco, MD
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
March 14, 2025 at 10:24 PM
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.