The Impact of the First Gay AIDS Patient on Hospice Staff

ABSTRACT

AIDS, a recently discovered, contagious, potentially fatal disease has created alarm in some segments of our society. Policy makers in hospices and all facilities that care for dying patients can benefit from the experience of others who have already cared for AIDS patients. This article is a report about the experiences of care givers in hospice settings that have received only a few AIDS patients, all of whom were young, gay males. The psychosocial impact of AIDS patient care on hospice staff is one of the issues that must be addressed if the experience is going to be a positive one for both the hospice and the patient/patient family. Three suggestions are made about hospice procedures that may decrease problems: successful acknowledgement of institutional and personal fear and anxiety; adequate inservice training; development of strong support networks.

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Notes on contributors

Sally Geis

Sally Geis is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she is involved in sociological research. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Denver Center and at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in California. She serves as a consultant to the Hospice of Metro Denver and to the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Inc.

Ruth L. Fuller

Ruth Fuller is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she practices psychiatry, child psychiatry and psychoanalysis. She is also a consultant in psychiatric education to the National Institutes of Mental Health. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychoanalytic Association, Black Psychiatrists of America and the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.