In July 1983, as the AIDS epidemic overtook the United States and beyond, a special ward opened on the fifth floor of San Francisco General Hospital by a group of health care practitioners. It was the first ward in the country dedicated to inpatient treatment, following the opening of the first outpatient ward in the same year. The nurses were appalled by the treatment that HIV/AIDS patients were receiving before then, with patients being isolated and moved to the end of the hall. This area had previously been used as residents’ sleeping quarters. Before the opening of 5B, most AIDS patients were treated on wards 5C and 5D, which were general medical units. Notices were posted throughout the hospital in early 1983, soliciting interested staff. Eleven nurses and two unit clerks were selected by Cliff Morrison, a former Clinical Nurse Specialist in psychiatry and the first nurse manager. The ward focused on patients' holistic well-being and involved loved ones in treatment discussions. It closed…