Hospice worker recalls working with HIV / AIDS patients in the 1980s

KENT COUNTY, Michigan – Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, a Michigan Hospice worker shares her story of working on the frontlines of Michigan’s AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Cynthia Pimm moved from California to West Michigan in 1986 and began volunteering with Hospice of Greater Grand Rapids, now known as Hospice of Michigan.

Pimm was among the first in the region to work with HIV / AIDS patients at the time.

“There was so much in the media it was pretty scary stuff,” she said. “It seemed very foreign to West Michigan, in particular, we were a little behind on the East Coast and West Coast, in our volume of numbers and in the media coverage of it… it was just complicated and in. constantly changing, and so everyone had to keep adjusting. And you just had to get in there, whether or not we had all the facts, you knew you had to help. “

According to Hospice of Michigan, Pimm served on the board of directors of the Grand Rapids AIDS task force and was part of the Buddy program to help patients without family support.

“We had to be there in their support system because the family was just too scared or already had them, you know, kicked out years ago and didn’t want to accept them,” she explained. “That’s when we created the House of Hope, which was our first palliative care home… we had to create a place where these people could be and be safe and comfortable when ‘they die. “

Pimm and other volunteers and staff faced challenges as HIV / AIDS was still unknown at the time.

“Trying to work with staff to make staff feel comfortable working with people diagnosed or living with HIV / AIDS has been a huge challenge, just because there was so much unknown,” he said. she told FOX 17 News. “However, it took some very brave nurses, some of our hospice nurses who stepped in and said… I’m going to take care of them, and they modeled for everyone. People had to step in early, don’t not really knowing all the risks, and did it anyway. “

She continued, “I am very proud to have worked for an organization for over 30 years that has always taken up the challenge. Before I had the answers. Before we had the equipment, before we really knew what we were doing. , we were ready to pretend, get in there and do our best. ”

World AIDS Day is an opportunity to raise awareness and remember those who have been lost to HIV / AIDS. To find out more, click here.

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