The UCSF AIDS Program at San Francisco General Hospital has received this year's top honor of the Desert AIDS Project of Palm Springs, Calif. The Project's prestigious 1998 Steve Chase Humanitarian Award in Science and Medicine was presented at a ceremony in mid-February in Palm Springs.

The honor cited the AIDS Program for its "unique blending of patient care, teaching, and research that serves as a worldwide model." The program's clinical services include Ward 5A, the inpatient HIV/AIDS unit, and Ward 86, the outpatient clinic. Both clinical units receive b volunteer support, which has been ongoing since their inception.

In presenting the award, Warner Engdahl, president of the Board of Directors of the Desert AIDS Project, noted that the Program at SFGH when it was established in 1983 was one of the few places in the country where patients with HIV disease could receive "knowledgeable and compassionate care."

The humanitarian award is named for Steve Chase, an internationally recognized designer who died in 1994. Chase was active in the Palm Springs community and was a key supporter of the Desert AIDS Project.

The UCSF AIDS Program at SFGH has provided treatment to thousands of patients. For the past seven years, the Program has been named as the best in the country for AIDS care in the annual survey conducted by US News & World Report.

Paul Volberding, professor of medicine, is director of the program; John Stansell, associate clinical professor of medicine, is medical director; James Kahn, associate professor of medicine, is associate director; and Donald Abrams, professor of medicine, is assistant director. On Ward 5A, Ann Dichov is head nurse, and Laurence Huang, UCSF assistant clinical professor of medicine, is medical director. On Ward 86, J.B. Molaghan is administrative nurse, and Rosaleen Brennan is charge nurse.

by Corinna Kaarlela

1st appeared 2/25/98

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