(Photo Credits: Screengrab from 5B Film’s YouTube Account)
When people were consumed by fear, a few heroes showed the world the power of human touch.
Hey, guys! You might want to watch this film titled 5B (Paul Haggis, Dan Krauss), it is currently in theaters and you can purchase tickets and check the cinema movie schedule near you here.
The title of the film, 5B, refers to a ward unit established by nurses in 1983—during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic—on the 5th floor of San Francisco General Hospital. Reportedly, it was “designed specifically to treat HIV/AIDS patients” and is the first of its kind in the United States. The ward operated up until 2003.
This documentary is about the “remarkable story of courage and compassion from the heroes of San Francisco General’s Ward 5B” told through the eyes of the nurses, doctors, their surviving patients and their loved ones as well as the “staff who volunteered to create care practices based in humanity and holistic well-being during a time of great uncertainty.”
People reported that one of the patients who appeared in the film named Steve Williams said, “The nurses at San Francisco General do such a wonderful job. They’re not afraid to touch you.” Williams fell in love with his nurse, Guy Vandenburg, and vice versa. Now married, the couple survived the challenges of those tough times and to say that it was tough is an understatement as Williams’ condition at one point “grew dire,” dire enough that he slipped into a coma.
Vandenburg said to People, “I’m standing here for all the people who are no longer with us and for all the people who are still alive but can’t be here. Nurses, patients, activists, people who treat other people with respect and dignity and love.”
On another note, Los Angeles Times described the film as a “tough, vital lesson in love, valor and compassion” on the one hand and on the other, “a somber, evocative reminder of that devastating yet galvanizing era.”
Indeed, Ward 5B is “not just a place; it’s a story of hope and courage.”
Nathan writes:
Ward5B is a testament to those who served/serve. I can and will attest to what was portrayed.
It is what we do when called upon to serve…be it a military or a civilian uniform. In the end, the servitude needs no further explanation.
So many people today still avoid those with HIV and AIDs like the plague. Although today there are so many options that they can live a normal long life as anyone else. No one is going to get HIV by a simple touch, kiss, sneeze, cough, etc. And having sex isn’t ruled out either, as with PreP, although probably not perfect, the risk is very very low. The biggest problem is the social stigma. HIV is just another virus, and eventually they will find an actual cure that is effective and affordable. People need to accept each other for whom… Read more »
I well remember those years. Enough so that I probably won’t watch the show because i’ve already seen the real deal. The despair, frailty, pain, and death. It was horrible in the first years; just helplessly watching people die while the medical community had no tools to stop it. Hospices were set up in an ad hoc fashion to accomodate the afflicted. I lost some lovers to it yet somehow remained HIV free. Later on it was still horrible even when the first antivirals came out; some were just too far gone. Now it seems passe’ by comparison and HIV… Read more »
LIBERTARIAN QUEER: I agree with you 100%. We have told females that they should not go to bed with a male who refuses to wear a condom, and that same realization should be practiced by our fellow Gay and Bi males as well. In a Democracy, it is the right of the individual to do as he sees fit, but when such an individual makes an insane choice, he must abide by the consequences of his choice. Democracy is a double-edged sword; it cuts both ways. Responsibility is not the sole domain of the Heterosexual; it is, also, the domain… Read more »
This was not only a problem for hospital workers but for first responders. I was a Paramedic in the bay area. Not only was the phobia at the hospitals but it made its way into public service first responders, paramedics, fire department, police officers. I am not picking on all Fire Fighters saying this, but most at the time. They didn’t follow me running into the burning building (I am using the example of a burning building) of an aids patient that simply called for help. The 911 dispatchers were no different, they spoke a code language that came over… Read more »