the san francisco model of aids care the san francisco model of aids care the san francisco model of aids care began in 1983 in wards 86 and 5b of san francisco general hospital. the focus of this model was not only on the health of each patient with aids, but also on the well-being of each person. as aids was beginning to be treated as a significant epidemic, san francisco general hospital recognized the need to create new standards of care for a disease that had never before been experienced. compassionate care has now become a priority worldwide and an expected standard in hospitals as there places a greater emphasis on the social, psychological, and economic aspects of treatment in addition to the medicine. gay liberation movement as the gay liberation movement began to gain prominence following the stonewall riots, gay pride and its affiliated political and social actions asserted the acceptance of homosexuals throughout major cities. with this new ideology, san francisco became one of these many major centers for gay liberation groups. in 1980, 17% of the city's population was homosexual, and more were attracted to this city for its large gay network and supportive environment. the castro district contained the majority of the gay population, and thus represented the epicenter of homosexuals in san francisco. away from the social stigma against them, this concentrated group of gay men participated freely in social rebellion, including liberal participation in sexual practices that were otherwise prohibited. gay communes, or communal living systems, were also created to celebrate and publicly acknowledge their prideful acceptance of free sexual preferences. with many gay-friendly meeting places existing and a thriving population of gay men, gay bars and bathhouses were created as another hub for available social interaction. aids in san francisco aids first erupted within the gay population, initiating the quest to understand the disease that would soon become endemic around the world. a sexually transmitted disease, hiv was especially prominent within this city because of san francisco's abnormal tolerance for sexual freedoms and gay-friendly places. bathhouses were a major factor for the spread of this disease, as it acted as a sexual outlet for homosexuals to practice risky behavior. thus, as one of the largest gay communities, san francisco suffered from a large number of aids cases and had the greatest incidence of aids until 1994, especially within the more concentrated area of the castro district. the inception of aids was initially thought to be contained within the gay population under the title of grid (gay related immune deficiency). 71% of 3,064 reported cases were of gay and bisexual men; 12% of these cases were in san francisco. yet with the first infant case in san francisco discovered by dr. art ammann in 1982, fear began to spread throughout the remaining population as many realized the disease could also infect through blood contamination. as such, grid was renamed to aids (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in 1982— now encompassing the cases found in hemophiliacs, haitians, and drug users. because the cdc could only provide strong evidence that aids was an infectious disease, not proof, there was no way to alleviate public panic. casual contact was considered a threat despite claims by paul volberding and other respected aids doctors because no proof was able to combat these fears. with homophobia, stigma, and a lack of knowledge for this disease, fear was a major motivating factor in interacting with aids victims. at san francisco general hospital, some doctors and nurses were unwilling to cooperate with or treat aids patients for fear of catching this disease, refusing to even enter an aids patient's room. for the gay community, this disease was rapid and terrifying. friends and partners, once active and well, were now ill, unable to care for themselves, and dying. not knowing how the disease was spread or what prevention methods were available, the gay community was unknowingly infecting itself and increasing the prominence of this disease in their population. care aids patients were often ostracized and subjected to homophobic intentions and fear-induced actions. many treated aids as a punishment for the risky lifestyle of the gay community. consequences of infection included unemployment, increased homophobia, and exclusion. ryan white, for example, was banned from attending school in his county due to the lack of knowledge and fear of his disease. a new york city tv station refused to interview an aids patient for fear of catching this disease. as such, the harsh stigma associated with this disease could also result in a denial for medical treatment in order to avoid the hateful stigma directed towards them. such stigma thus accelerated the social death of those infected. excluded from the community and denied the respect of a living person, aids infected patients were considered and treated as dead while still alive. this treatment resulted in a lack of will to live, suicidal intentions, and denial for treatment in order to avoid the implications of social death. the model for aids care because aids was a multidisciplinary disease, requiring attention in the medical, psychological, and social fields, a new approach had to be made in order to care for aids patients. in addition, the majority of aids patients were young adults suddenly subjected to the responsibilities of death and the harsh realities of social stigma. as such, hospitals could no longer maintain only the responsibility of medical care, but also adopt different psychosocial support systems. aids introduced the social and psychological implications of a disease amidst the many physical aspects that one may inflict. aids patients introduced not only biological, but also psychological, social, and political factors—such as discrimination, isolation, and poverty—into a clinical setting, thus eradicating traditional measures taken to treat disease, and forcing clinics and hospitals to expand their resources to cover these new multidisciplinary requirements. specific needs for aids care continuum include: self care (personal care, buddy program, attendant) care of home (homemaker-chore worker) food (home delivered meals) residential care (board and care, congregate housing) transportation socialization (social day care) altering home environment in response to functional limitations special care for dying (hospice, counseling, psychiatric care, legal services) medical service at home continuous nursing care emotional psychological problems legal and financial planning employment counseling emergency response protection from abuse consideration of these topics is essential in understanding the model of care necessary for those patients inflicted with this disease. this model may also be used to improve the care in other disease. in obtaining substantial progress to accomplish these new requirements, volunteer organizations were essential to this cause. support systems were created by organizations as a response to those suffering from this disease. a large impact of these organizations was providing support and personal contact to a patient that was normally met with discrimination. extra attention on people with aids helped them feel welcomed and important to a society that victimized and ostracized them. volunteer organizations also reduced costs for already limited hospital funding. the shanti project, in addition to providing buddy programs and counselors, teamed up with the city and county of san francisco to arrange low cost housing options for aids patients. in this way, the city leased housing units to shanti and thus allowed patients to live under the care of shanti and other agencies. by living in these provided housing units, patients were also able to create support systems within them, thus decreasing the need for inpatient services. as such, hospitals were able to reduce costs by increasing outpatient management with the help of volunteer agencies. other organizations include the san francisco aids foundation, which provided financial and social assistance, food donations, and education programs through community forums discussing aids therapy, sexual risk reduction, and aids virus antibody testing. this program also provided aid through telephone hotlines and physical referrals. the hospice of san francisco and the visiting nurse association provided in-home and special care, allowing patients to reduce overall hospitalizations and maintain the option of having an at-home death. people with aids alliance was a network of aids patients that emphasized the importance of people with aids as vital members of their communities and not as victims. this program supported aids patients by advocating and providing education, recreational programs, retreats and support groups for them. in addition to established organizations, professionals would volunteer time to assist patients. interior designers created comfortable spaces, legal workers helped make wills, florists provided flowers, and other people would donate food, games, and toys for the patients and their families. specific support groups were available to meet any circumstance, for example, groups for inpatients, hispanic women, or the transgender community; they were also available for the care-takers, burdened with the death toll of so many patients. as a result, it became essential to adopt this new form of care— focusing on the social and psychological implications of this disease. mobilization against aids includes caring for the sick, and increased involvement— not only on stopping the infection itself. the san francisco model paul volberding was one of the first to notice the sudden increase in kaposi sarcoma (ks) cases in young gay men. in time, he learned the correlation between this cancer and aids infection, and thus began his career with aids patients. as an oncologist, he was also able to recognize the emotional toll the disease inflicts upon these patients, and was aware of the psychosocial care that would be required of them. in this way volberding was one of the first to help implement this new and necessary model of care—multidisciplinary and directed towards patients' well-being. dubbed the san francisco model of care, this model removed the social death of aids by directing attention and care towards the patients as humans—not as helpless victims. priority was now given to patient advocacy, care, and education rather than on the sole concern of avoiding death. this model of care was first recognized in wards 86 and 5b, respectively the outpatient and inpatient wards of san francisco general hospital. both were created with the intention to improve the care directed towards aids patients. outpatient clinic ward 86 was co-founded by volberding and was initially started as a ks clinic at ucsf. yet surrounded by fear and homophobia, patients in this clinic were neglected by caretakers, rejected, and treated poorly—subjected to appalling treatment, patients were forced to change their own sheets, food was left outside instead of brought into rooms, and floors hosting aids patients were avoided. in addition, ucsf hospital feared exposing other patients to this disease and labeling their renown hospital as a center for disease. as such, volberding's ks clinic was moved to san francisco general hospital where it then received its current name of ward 86. recognizing the expense of hospitalizations and the hardships of this disease, this outpatient ward provided aids patients with an environment that was responsive and conducive to the accompanying struggles of their disease. inspired by the model of care demonstrated in ward 86, an inpatient clinic—ward5b— was created in 1983 to implement similar values for care. cliff morrison, a nurse and advocate for aids patients, was responsible for creating this ward. originally opposing the creation of a separate unit, morrison wanted to diminish stigma and discrimination towards these patients by keeping them with other patients in the hospital. yet with ongoing fear and homophobic hostilities, it became apparent to create an aids specific unit for the aids patients and staff where proper treatment could be expected and not hoped for. ward 5b was specifically led by volunteer nurses to ensure genuine care as a passion and not a burden. demands of this job were incredibly high—emotionally and physically— as the majority of patients died, and lack of funding did not allow for nurses to be paid for all the hours worked. yet because of this voluntary system, ward 5b supported an environment of sincerity and humane care— attention directed towards patients and not only on the medicine. both wards demonstrated a holistic approach towards care. physicians were no longer in charge, but teams of people— social workers, physicians, nurses, volunteers, nutritionists, and mental health staff—collaborated for the patients’ benefit. the clinical approach to this disease emulated oncology models, requiring a strong infrastructure of nurses and social support. exceptions were made for patients—visitor hours never ended, items from