Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
@lderwill.bsky.social
I've taught in higher education/ public health for 20 years. Worked in the health & wellness field before teaching. I was raised on a university campus and believe in freedom of speech, caring for others, and access to healthcare and education. Dr. LDW
Again, believe the opposite of whatever dft says!
October 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Again, believe the opposite of whatever dft says!
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
(1/3) 🌍 Today is ALSO World Polio Day!
Today commemorates the birthday of Jonas Salk, who developed the first effective polio vaccine. It highlights progress made through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership of many health organizations, including CDC and WHO.
Today commemorates the birthday of Jonas Salk, who developed the first effective polio vaccine. It highlights progress made through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership of many health organizations, including CDC and WHO.
October 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
(1/3) 🌍 Today is ALSO World Polio Day!
Today commemorates the birthday of Jonas Salk, who developed the first effective polio vaccine. It highlights progress made through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership of many health organizations, including CDC and WHO.
Today commemorates the birthday of Jonas Salk, who developed the first effective polio vaccine. It highlights progress made through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership of many health organizations, including CDC and WHO.
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
(2/3) 🩺 Polio vaccination campaigns are a clear global health success story. Polio once paralyzed 1,000 children EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Vaccines changed that. There's been a 99% reduction in polio cases since 1988. That's more than 20 million people spared from paralysis.
Vaccines changed that. There's been a 99% reduction in polio cases since 1988. That's more than 20 million people spared from paralysis.
October 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
(2/3) 🩺 Polio vaccination campaigns are a clear global health success story. Polio once paralyzed 1,000 children EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Vaccines changed that. There's been a 99% reduction in polio cases since 1988. That's more than 20 million people spared from paralysis.
Vaccines changed that. There's been a 99% reduction in polio cases since 1988. That's more than 20 million people spared from paralysis.
Was dft sent to speed up the demise of the planet? Grrr.
Trump OKs drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge share.google/FYRyhKkY1N56...
Trump OKs drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge share.google/FYRyhKkY1N56...
share.google
October 23, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Was dft sent to speed up the demise of the planet? Grrr.
Trump OKs drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge share.google/FYRyhKkY1N56...
Trump OKs drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge share.google/FYRyhKkY1N56...
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
Wisdom from Schoolhouse Rock.
October 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Wisdom from Schoolhouse Rock.
OMG. It may be safer to do the exact opposite of whatever doodoo rfk jr' says. Now it will be M.A.FatAgain.
MAHA? Health Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. to advocate for more saturated fats share.google/10Opjz9Cge7U...
MAHA? Health Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. to advocate for more saturated fats share.google/10Opjz9Cge7U...
share.google
October 22, 2025 at 4:06 AM
OMG. It may be safer to do the exact opposite of whatever doodoo rfk jr' says. Now it will be M.A.FatAgain.
MAHA? Health Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. to advocate for more saturated fats share.google/10Opjz9Cge7U...
MAHA? Health Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. to advocate for more saturated fats share.google/10Opjz9Cge7U...
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
Thank you JB for standing up for Illinois! www.newsweek.com/jb-pritzker-...
JB Pritzker issues defiant response to Donald Trump's jail demand
National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago as President Donald Trump's administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime.
www.newsweek.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Thank you JB for standing up for Illinois! www.newsweek.com/jb-pritzker-...
Congratulations to Sienna Mark on receiving this prestigious scholarship! www.eiu.edu/media/viewst...
Sienna Mark
www.eiu.edu
September 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Congratulations to Sienna Mark on receiving this prestigious scholarship! www.eiu.edu/media/viewst...
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
This week it’s hard not to despair as we see everything we’ve lost. But public health has always been an act of faith. Faith that incremental changes can make vast differences in the future. So keep speaking up. Keep doing the work. We are the keepers of the seeds. And we will grow again. 💚
April 11, 2025 at 3:32 AM
This week it’s hard not to despair as we see everything we’ve lost. But public health has always been an act of faith. Faith that incremental changes can make vast differences in the future. So keep speaking up. Keep doing the work. We are the keepers of the seeds. And we will grow again. 💚
Prevention should always be the first effort! They're doing it backward again. "Getting rid of efforts for prevention, early detection, and supporting caregivers seems so counter to the idea of finding efficiencies in federal spending," one source said. www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...
CDC's Population Health Office Is Gone
Only one critical, long-standing national survey was spared
www.medpagetoday.com
April 8, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Prevention should always be the first effort! They're doing it backward again. "Getting rid of efforts for prevention, early detection, and supporting caregivers seems so counter to the idea of finding efficiencies in federal spending," one source said. www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...
Please NO! We already have a holiday on that day... Flag Day! It was also my mother and grandmother bday - they are worthy of celebration!
Trump has ordered a 4-mile-long military parade in honor of his 79th birthday, that will cost taxpayers $92 Million dollars.
There is no bigger whiny, petulant, petty, vindictive, send me money, the world revolves around me, attention whore than Trump.
#ProudBlue #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice
There is no bigger whiny, petulant, petty, vindictive, send me money, the world revolves around me, attention whore than Trump.
#ProudBlue #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice
April 8, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Please NO! We already have a holiday on that day... Flag Day! It was also my mother and grandmother bday - they are worthy of celebration!
www.wbez.org/politics/202...
I know this is happening around the country, but there's a little extra sting when it's your own state, and so many of my friends and colleagues are working directly in this field. Continue making phone calls!!
I know this is happening around the country, but there's a little extra sting when it's your own state, and so many of my friends and colleagues are working directly in this field. Continue making phone calls!!
Trump administration cuts $153 million in Illinois public health, substance abuse programs
The Illinois cuts are part of $12 billion in grants that the federal Department of Health and Human Services canceled this week.
www.wbez.org
March 28, 2025 at 1:25 AM
www.wbez.org/politics/202...
I know this is happening around the country, but there's a little extra sting when it's your own state, and so many of my friends and colleagues are working directly in this field. Continue making phone calls!!
I know this is happening around the country, but there's a little extra sting when it's your own state, and so many of my friends and colleagues are working directly in this field. Continue making phone calls!!
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
AOC, @aoc.bsky.social, making the case for free speech alongside universal healthcare is so KEY for the left, because it's time progressives reclaimed the mantle of fighting for free speech from the faux free speech warriors of the right.
AOC: I want to live in an America that guarantees healthcare to every person.
I want to live in an America that has a living wage for every person
I want to live in an America where you have free speech to express yourself and not be afraid of being put on a list or deported.
I want to live in an America that has a living wage for every person
I want to live in an America where you have free speech to express yourself and not be afraid of being put on a list or deported.
March 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM
AOC, @aoc.bsky.social, making the case for free speech alongside universal healthcare is so KEY for the left, because it's time progressives reclaimed the mantle of fighting for free speech from the faux free speech warriors of the right.
Good solid explanation of the measles. CDC states people born before 1957 and vaccinated before 1968 do not have immunity. Public health departments or pharmacies typically provide MMR vaccines.
Amid the measles outbreak in the US, misinformation is flying on social media. Here are some hard facts about the deadly disease, which infected millions every year before a vaccine was developed.
This Is How Measles Kills
Measles is known for its characteristic rash, but it can have serious respiratory and neurologic complications.
wrd.cm
March 16, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Good solid explanation of the measles. CDC states people born before 1957 and vaccinated before 1968 do not have immunity. Public health departments or pharmacies typically provide MMR vaccines.
This is like a bad version of the children's book "If you give a pig a pancake." The impact of these cuts goes so far ... schools meal programs, food pantries, farmers, and growers are all going to feel this in a negative way.
www.today.com/food/news/us...
www.today.com/food/news/us...
USDA cuts over $1 billion in local food purchasing for schools and food banks
The School Nutrition Association said the USDA cut the Local Food for Schools program for 2025.
www.today.com
March 14, 2025 at 10:36 PM
This is like a bad version of the children's book "If you give a pig a pancake." The impact of these cuts goes so far ... schools meal programs, food pantries, farmers, and growers are all going to feel this in a negative way.
www.today.com/food/news/us...
www.today.com/food/news/us...
No big deal (said sarcastically), they just wipe out reference to Black, Hispanic, and women notable veterans like these honored individuals never existed or didn't do whatever they did? UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!
taskandpurpose.com/news/arlingt...
taskandpurpose.com/news/arlingt...
Arlington Cemetery website drops links for Black, Hispanic, and women veterans
The Arlington National Cemetery website "unpublished" links to material about Black, Hispanic and women veterans.
taskandpurpose.com
March 14, 2025 at 4:45 AM
No big deal (said sarcastically), they just wipe out reference to Black, Hispanic, and women notable veterans like these honored individuals never existed or didn't do whatever they did? UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!
taskandpurpose.com/news/arlingt...
taskandpurpose.com/news/arlingt...
We used to be the country to help others, welcome with open arms, and example of good. This is embarrassing.
time.com/7266334/us-h...
time.com/7266334/us-h...
U.S. Is Added to Human Rights Watchlist
The United States was added Sunday to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, due to declining civil liberties.
time.com
March 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
We used to be the country to help others, welcome with open arms, and example of good. This is embarrassing.
time.com/7266334/us-h...
time.com/7266334/us-h...
Yet another crazy plot. Anyone think women should try to get names, DLs, and passports changed now to include their birth last names if they can? I know this act excludes many and should not pass!!!!
The rumors are true: The proposed SAVE Act, now considered a priority for Republicans in the House, will make it harder, if not practically impossible, for millions of women to vote.
The Christian Nationalist Plot to Disenfranchise Women Voters
The SAVE Act, which purports to fend off the phantasmal threat of voter fraud, would throw millions of women off the voting rolls.
newrepublic.com
March 9, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Yet another crazy plot. Anyone think women should try to get names, DLs, and passports changed now to include their birth last names if they can? I know this act excludes many and should not pass!!!!
Please!!!
Democrats,
You don't need presidential aspirations to lead.
You don't need the establishment's approval
You don't need to have all the answers
People are anxious for the future of our country. Fearful for the fate of democracy. Angry at the oligarchs and their insatiable greed
Step up and lead.
You don't need presidential aspirations to lead.
You don't need the establishment's approval
You don't need to have all the answers
People are anxious for the future of our country. Fearful for the fate of democracy. Angry at the oligarchs and their insatiable greed
Step up and lead.
March 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Please!!!
Reposted by Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
Remind them that standing
up for democracy matters
—and that we the people
have the power to vote
them out if they won’t.
up for democracy matters
—and that we the people
have the power to vote
them out if they won’t.
Here’s the list of Democrats who voted to censure Al Green. Give them a call and let them know where you stand. Remind them that standing up for democracy matters—and that we the people have the power to vote them out if they won’t.
March 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Remind them that standing
up for democracy matters
—and that we the people
have the power to vote
them out if they won’t.
up for democracy matters
—and that we the people
have the power to vote
them out if they won’t.
I laughed out loud at this and had one person's face in mind. Any guesses who?
Word of the day is ‘lickspittle’ (17th century): a person who fawns upon someone in power for personal gain.
March 4, 2025 at 10:26 PM
I laughed out loud at this and had one person's face in mind. Any guesses who?
Geez. Colleges have been safe spaces for young adults to express themselves through protest. Permanently expelled? Not sure that protests are part of the student conduct code. No masks? Not only to see who's there, no protection from whatever virus is around. Makes me think of Kent State - hope not.
If he can change the 1st Amendment then the next Democrat can change the 2nd.
March 4, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Geez. Colleges have been safe spaces for young adults to express themselves through protest. Permanently expelled? Not sure that protests are part of the student conduct code. No masks? Not only to see who's there, no protection from whatever virus is around. Makes me think of Kent State - hope not.