Posts By King County Archives

June 1, 2016 · by King County Archives

The HIV/AIDS Timeline

AIDS Prevention Project staff maintained a timeline of local and national events relating to HIV and AIDS through the year 2010: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in King County: A Timeline of Significant Events

King County Archives holdings relating to HIV/AIDS, 1982-1996

Records of the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV/AIDS Program

Series 458 – Organizations files 1985-1998

Series 459 – Legislative files 1987-1998

Series 460 – Grant files 1985-2000

Series 462 – Project files 1985-1998

Series 463 – Correspondence files 1986-1997

Series 464 – Departmental files 1986-1997

Series 1770 – HIV/AIDS epidemiological report 1983-2009

Series 1825 – History files 1979-2012

Series 1843 – HIV/AIDS epidemiology profile for community planning, 1996-2008

Series 1861 – Subject files 1986-2010

Note: Access to research data is restricted under HIPAA and Washington State privacy laws.

Accession A15-053: Dr. Robert Wood subject/issue files ( -1996); Brief Street Intercept 1992-1994, Seattle HIV/AIDS Planning Council 1998-2002; Wave #11 (Women, Youth, MSM) 1994

Accession A16-029: Research study materials

Records of the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Division

Series 466 – Administrative files 1984-1989

Series 470 – Detoxification Center subject files 1972-1994

Records of the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Director’s Office

Series 10 – City/county division files 1973-1986

Series 11 – Clipping and press release files 1965-1986

Series 443 – Administrative files: Bud Nicola 1973-1989

Series 444 – Administrative files: David Lurie 1987-1992

Records of the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Regional Division

Accession 09-022. Division Director’s issue files 1985-1993

Records of the King County Council

Series 305 – Ordinance files 1969-2014

Series 306 – Motion files 1969-2014

Series 997 – Administrative working files: County Council District One / Audrey Gruger 1978-1991

Records of King County Executive Tim Hill

Series 435 – Management work papers 1986-1993

Series 1470 – Agency files 1982-1993

Seattle Municipal Archives holdings

Funding and policy control over the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health (now Public Health Seattle & King County) is shared by King County and the City of Seattle. The Seattle Municipal Archives provides access to historical records of the City’s executive and legislative branches. Records relating to City oversight of and involvement in the local response to HIV/AIDS during the period covered by this exhibit may be found in the records of Seattle Mayor Charles Royer, Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, and the Seattle City Council.

To learn about the history of gay rights in the City of Seattle, see the Seattle Municipal Archives’ exhibit The Gay Rights Movement and the City of Seattle during the 1970s.

Previous: Oral Histories

About this exhibit

May 29, 2016 · by King County Archives

Oral history interviews were conducted by Michael Brown, Lawrence Knopp, and David Reyes—volunteers with the Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project—and by former AIDS Prevention Project Program Manager Tim Burak.

Tim Burak

Tim Burak served Public Health – Seattle & King County for 35 years, beginning in 1974 as Dental Program Coordinator. In 1985, Tim was hired as Program Manager for the AIDS Prevention Project, and then from 1995 through 2006, he worked as Community Health Center Program Manager. In 2006 Tim became Program Manager for HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Grants and retired in 2010.

Ann Downer

Ann Downer has worked as a public health professional in domestic and international settings for more than 35 years. She began her public health career as an educator with Planned Parenthood International and later worked as a trainer, curriculum specialist, and manager in public and private schools, clinics and hospitals, non-profits/NGOs, health departments, and with Ministries of Health and Education around the world. Dr. Downer was a member of the original team that founded the Seattle-based Committee for Children in 1981. Committee for Children is a non-profit organization based in Seattle that has taught millions of children the skills needed for managing their emotions, problem solving, and seeking help if they are being hurt. Teachers in schools all over the world now use the social and emotional learning materials of Committee for Children.

Dr. Downer joined the Seattle-King County Dept. of Public Health (SKCDPH) in early 1986 as the first Health Educator on the CDC-funded demonstration project called The AIDS Project. Dr. Bud Nicola led the well-regarded SKCDPH at that time, and Ann reported to Dr. Bob Wood, a pioneering HIV/AIDS specialist. Ann and her team supported development of behavioral research protocols and produced some of the first AIDS prevention campaigns in the state of Washington. Many of those mass media campaigns, curriculum products, and behavioral interventions are still in use today.

Dr. Downer left the health department in 1989 for an appointment on the faculty of the University of Washington (UW), Department of Health Services. She transferred into the newly formed Department of Global Health when it was established in 2007. During her many years at UW, Dr. Downer has taught courses on mass media in health, educational theory, health promotion planning, and management and leadership. She founded two centers at UW during this time, including the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) that now employees more than 600 people worldwide and operates 12 offices outside the US. I-TECH, the second largest program in the history of UW’s external funding, provides technical assistance to strengthen national healthcare systems and increase human capacity for health throughout the developing world. Much of its work is focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.

Dr. Downer holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership.

Frank Chaffee

Frank Chaffee joined the AIDS Prevention Project in 1986 and currently serves as Manager of Public Health – Seattle & King County’s HIV/STD Program. He plans to retire soon, after 30 years with King County.

Gary Goldbaum

Trained as a physician, Gary Goldbaum joined the AIDS Prevention Project in 1989 as Assistant Medical Director after earning his Master of Public Health from the University of Washington. In 2007, Gary moved to his current position as Director of the Snohomish Health District in Snohomish County, Washington. Gary also served as Associate Professor with the University of Washington from 1996 through 2013.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

Dr. Handsfield is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of Washington Center for AIDS and STD. From 1978 through 2005, he directed the Public Health – Seattle & King County STD Control Program, and for the first three years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic was the main public face of AIDS prevention and public education in Seattle and King County. He also was among the national experts first consulted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to formulate HIV prevention strategies and the national response to AIDS. During four decades of research, clinical services, and education on STDs, Dr. Handsfield has authored or co-authored over 200 research papers, monographs, reviews, chapters, and a book, Color Atlas and Synopsis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, currently in its third edition. He continues to consult frequently for CDC on STD prevention and treatment and twice served CDC as a visiting scientist. In 2010 Dr. Handsfield received the American STD Association’s Distinguished Career Award (formerly known as the Thomas Parran Award), the nation’s highest accolade for lifelong contributions to STD research and prevention. He remains active as an Associate Editor of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the main journal for STD research, and as an attending physician at Harborview Medical Center.

Karen Hartfield

Karen Hartfield joined the AIDS Prevention Project as HIV Prevention Planner in 1988 and worked in that capacity for 15 years. Prior to joining Public Health, she worked for the Seattle Urban League as a sex educator for parents and their children. Karen was also a founding board member of the People of Color Against AIDS Network. Her current role with Public Health – Seattle & King County is as Health Services Administrator for the Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunizations Section. Karen has been a lecturer with the University of Washington School of Public Health since 2001. Karen obtained her Masters in Public Health, Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Harvard University.

Sharon Hopkins

Sharon Hopkins was Senior Epidemiologist for the AIDS Prevention Project from 1986 to 2003. After 17 years with the APP, she returned to her original professional field of veterinary work and served the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health as Public Health Veterinarian from 2003 to 2014. Sharon is now retired.

Patricia McInturff

Patricia McInturff received her MPA in 1977 and was hired by the Seattle King County Department of Public Health in the same year. She began her career as a public health administrator in charge of grants and contracts and risk management. In 1982 she moved into the program side of the organization and became the Section Administrator for TB, Epidemiology, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and AIDS. In 1986 she was promoted to Director of the Regional Division which included the AIDS Services and Prevention Program, Sexually Transmitted Disease Control Program, Tuberculosis Control Program, Epidemiology Program, Public Health Laboratory, Vital Statistics Program, and Jail Health Services.

She was a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University Washington Department of Health Services, School of Pubic Health and Community Medicine from 1994 to 2000.

Patricia co-chaired the Ryan White Title I Council and was a member of the National Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS for the Centers for Disease Control. She was the Principal Investigator for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Health Resources and Services Administration grants for AIDS Services. In her volunteer life she was a founding member of the Board of AIDS Housing of Washington, which built Bailey Boushay House, and a Trustee of Harborview Medical Center.

Her awards related to her work in HIV/IAIDS included the Governor’s AIDS Service Award for Public Service (1992) and Public Employee of the Year Municipal League of King County—Civic Awards Recipient (1994).

After leaving the Health Department she was Visiting Scholar at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and finished her career as Director of the City Seattle Human Services Department. In addition to funding and operating program and services to meet the basic need of the most vulnerable in our community, the Department directed the City’s investment in public health and provided public health policy direction to the Mayor and City Council.

Robert Wood

Dr. Bob Wood, a native of central New York State, is an academic general internist educated at Hamilton College, the University of Rochester School of Medicine (’70), Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and the University of Washington, after which he joined the University of Washington faculty as an assistant professor of medicine. Initial research involved using computers in medicine, and to investigate cost-effective standards of care for common clinical problems as used by mid-level medical practitioners. In 1986 he became an associate professor based on his health services research. He is now a UW Clinical Professor of Medicine.

A gay physician leader of a local group of about 100 LGBT physicians in the late 70s and early 80s, Bob became involved in AIDS medical care in 1982, with an early case of extensive lymphadenopathy and then taking on the care for one of the region’s first AIDS cases. In 1983 he joined the first board of the NW AIDS Foundation, and became its second board president. In May 1985 Bob tested HIV seropositive. In 1986 he was appointed Director of the HIV/AIDS Control Program for Public Health – Seattle & King County. Bob was appointed to the Governor’s Council on HIV/AIDS in 1987 and was its chair for 4 years in the early 90s. He remained a member until retirement in 2010. From 1994-1999 Dr. Wood was a member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS & STD Prevention, and he twice represented US and Seattle model AIDS prevention efforts to the World Health Organization.

Before AIDS work Bob was the Principal Investigator (PI) for a 6-year grant from the US Army, and an NIMH grant studying depression among emergency room patients in Seattle. His AIDS work included being PI for several CDC AIDS Community Demonstration Projects (“Be-A-Star” Study targeting men who have sex with men, and harder to reach targets, 1986-1994), NIDA’s National AIDS Demonstration Research targeting injection drug users (1987–1991), and for the Viral Hepatitis Integration Project (2000-2004). In 2006, he became Deputy Director for the Sociobehavioral Prevention Research Core (SPRC) of the UW’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). He has authored or co-authored nearly 100 papers and chapters on such topics as management of upper respiratory infections, cough, and back pain, on HIV/AIDS clinical care, epidemiology, and prevention, and on end of life options. He has also helped mentor 18 medical and masters in public health students.

Since retirement from his Public Health post in early 2010, Dr. Bob remains a very part-time on the faculty of the CFAR’s SPRC, provides HIV/AIDS lectures both at the UW and Seattle University, and has been volunteering as the lead medical advisor for End of Life, Washington (formerly Compassion & Choices of Washington) a non-profit community organization which provides education about end of life planning to the elderly and personal assistance to terminally ill persons who seek the option of using the state’s “death with dignity” law, enabling qualifying persons to obtain physician prescriptions for life-ending medication. Bob is now involved in educating physicians and other providers nationwide about this new option available to the terminally ill.

Tim Burak interviews Robert Wood

In this follow-up interview, Dr. Bob Wood and Tim Burak discuss the work of colleagues Ann Collier, King Holmes, Pam Ryan, Wayne McCormick, Mark Dion, Andy Krusich, Jane Crigler, and Carol Wood, among others. They discuss how Public Health supported local doctors who were treating AIDS patients through training and sharing of best practices, ensuring safety and quality care; the meaning of “the community”; the AIDS Planning Council; the impact of effective AIDS treatments that became available beginning in 1994; and the impact of the AIDS epidemic on LGBT rights in the United States. [Airplane noise in audio.]

Additional oral histories

Carol Dunphy

Carol Dunphy was the first nurse practitioner for the AIDS Prevention Project, where she served in that capacity for 20 years. Prior to joining the APP, Carol worked as a nurse practitioner in various contexts, including in the King County Jail in downtown Seattle. Oral history interview transcription (PDF)

Anne Bremner

Anne Bremner worked the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office from 1983 through 1988, including two years in the Special Assault Unit, which was one of the first such units in the nation. Anne served as prosecutor for the initial case against Steven Farmer (see section in The AIDS Omnibus Act: New Mandates). Oral history interview transcription (PDF)

Interviewers

Michael Brown

Michael Brown is Professor of Geography at the University of Washington. His research is on urban politics, sexuality, and public health. His early research was on the local responses to AIDS in Vancouver, Canada.

Lawrence Knopp

Lawrence Knopp is Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator for the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences (University of Washington Tacoma), Adjunct Professor of Geography; Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies (University of Washington Seattle), and Affiliate Professor, Comparative History of Ideas (University of Washington Seattle).

David Reyes

David Reyes is Assistant Professor, Nursing & Healthcare Leadership Program at the University of Washington Tacoma.

Previous: Gallery

References and Resources

May 23, 2016 · by King County Archives

Please note: This page features historical materials relating to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. For current health information, please visit Public Health, Seattle & King County – HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention and Education.

Images from the King County Archives

1940s-1970s: Public Health VD programs

Seattle Transit bus ad appearing in 1947, from “The Road to Health,” 1954. [Series 872, King County documents collection.]

Nursing Program – bulletin board “Nursing in VD control,” 1950. [Series 275 – Seattle-King County Department of Public Health Photograph files. Item 90.2.0955]

VD Blood Check Poster – 1950s [Series 275 – Seattle-King County Department of Public Health Photograph Files. Item 90.2.2726]

Graphic from 1960s Public Health STD outreach event.

Public Health brochure targeted to gay men (1970s). [Series 11 – Clipping and press release files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. 11-6-7]

Early 1980s: AIDS Emerges, Early Outreach and Education

Poster describing services of the AIDS Prevention Project, ca. 1986. [Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-12-5.]

Flyer advertising AIDS Prevention Project at Seneca and Summit location, ca. 1986. [Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. Folder 1825-3-5.]

Advertisement for recorded AIDS information provided over a telephone hotline, 1983. [Series 11, Clipping and press release files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Folder 11-6-6.]

Front of fold-out wallet-card, 1983. [Series 10, Director’s city/county division files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Item 10-11-7-7]

Brochure for public safety and emergency personnel, 1984. [Series 10, Director’s city/county division files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. 10-11-7.]

Logo for the Seattle Gay Clinic, ca. 1983. The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health and the clinic worked in partnership in the fight against AIDS. [Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-1-9.]

Flyer for community forum on AIDS held on December 1, 1982. Over 300 people attended the event at Seattle Central Community College. [Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-1-7.]

Collage of early AIDS headlines. [Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-1-7.]

1986-1990: The “Be a Star” Study

AIDS Prevention Project staff and volunteers with float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1987 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising a thank-you party for “Be a Star” study participants (ca. 1991). Mae West was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-5.]

Poster advertising the “Be a Star” study (ca. 1987-). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising the “Be a Star” study (ca. 1987-). Billie Holiday was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising the “Be a Star” study (ca. 1987-). Judy Garland was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising the “Be a Star” study (ca. 1987-). Oscar Wilde was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising the “Be a Star” study (ca. 1987-). James Dean was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Back cover of “The Seattle Star,” Report No. 2, 1991. The semi-annual report to the community summarized findings from the Be a Star study. Marilyn Monroe was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13.]

Advertisement for the Be a Star study, ca. 1987. Marilyn Monroe, Billie Holiday, James Dean, and Mae West were “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Poster advertising the Be a Star study, ca. 1987. “Stars” (Judy Garland, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Oscar Wilde, Billie Holiday, and Mae West) were assigned to subjects in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-5.]

Poster advertising the Be a Star study, ca. 1987. “Stars” (Mae West, James Dean, Judy Garland, Oscar Wilde, Billie Holiday, and Marilyn Monroe) were assigned to subjects in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-5.]

Poster advertising the Be a Star study (ca. 1987-). Mae West was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

AIDS Prevention Project volunteers playing the “stars” (Billie Holiday, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Oscar Wilde) on float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1987 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-2-13.]

Front cover of “The Seattle Star,” Report No. 2, 1991. The semi-annual report to the community summarized findings from the Be a Star study. Marilyn Monroe was one of the “stars” assigned to subjects, in a system designed to allow long-term, anonymous participation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13.]

AIDS Prevention Project float advertising the “Be a Star” study at Seattle’s 1988 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-2.]

Staff [and volunteers?] with the AIDS Prevention Project float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1988 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-2.]

1987: Seattle Pride

Seattle Pride Festival, 1987. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-1.]

1988: Seattle Pride

AIDS Prevention Project float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1988 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-2.]

Pride flag at Seattle’s 1988 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-2.]

[Staff and volunteers?] with AIDS Prevention Project float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1989 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-3.]

AIDS Prevention Project staff Javier Amaya (holding sign) and David Bibus with AIDS Prevention Project float advertising the Be a Star study at Seattle’s 1989 Gay Pride Parade. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-3.]

1989/1990: Seattle Pride

Condom dress and unidentified person at Seattle Gay Pride parade, ca. 1989-1990. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-4.]

AIDS Prevention Project booth at Seattle Pride Fest, ca. 1989/1990. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-5.]

Frank Chaffee and unidentified visitors at AIDS Prevention Project booth at Seattle Pride Fest, ca. 1989/1990. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-5.]

AIDS Prevention Project booth at Seattle Pride Fest, ca. 1989/1990. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-5.]

Late 1980s: Outreach to Intravenous Drug Users and the Needle Exchange

Cover of brochure directed at intravenous drug users, ca. 1987. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Inside of brochure directed at intravenous drug users, produced by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, ca. 1989. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-5.]

Cover of brochure for the Seattle-King County needle exchange program, ca. 1989/1990. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-5.]

Brochure for the Needle Education Outreach Network (NEON), which targeted a high-risk group: gay men who injected methamphetamine. A Harm Reduction Group met at the Group Health Medical Center on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

The 1990s: People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN)

Cover of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Inside cover and page 1 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 2 and 3 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 4 and 5 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 6 and 7 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 8 and 9 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 10 and 11 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 12 and 13 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Pages 14 and 15 of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Page 16 and inside back cover of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Back cover of “AIDS News” comic book, published by the People of Color Against AIDS Network, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-17.]

Famous Last Words

Poster from “Famous Last Words” campaign by the People of Color Against AIDS Network. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-36.]

Girlfriends Talking

Cover of pamphlet from “Girlfriends Talking” campaign by the People of Color Against AIDS Network. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-13.]

Inside pages of pamphlet from “Girlfriends Talking” campaign by the People of Color Against AIDS Network. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-3-13.]

Street Kids AIDS Training and Education (SKATE)

Poster from “Street Kids Training and Education” campaign. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-12-4.]

The Condom Campaign

Poster from Public Health’s condom campaign. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-20.

Metro bus sign from Public Health’s condom campaign. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-20.]

Metro bus sign from Public Health’s condom campaign. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-20.

Metro bus sign from Public Health’s condom campaign. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-20.

Stella Seattle

Inside cover and first page of “Stella!” comic, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

Cover of “Stella Seattle” comic, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

“Stella Seattle” postcard, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

Page from “Stella Seattle” calendar, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

“Stella Seattle” postcard, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

Pages from “Stella Seattle” calendar, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

“Stella Seattle” postcard, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

Pages from “Stella Seattle” calendar, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

“Stella Seattle” postcard by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

“Stella Seattle” postcard, by Dominic Cappello. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-10.]

OutLOUD

Front of OutLOUD newsletter/poster. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-14.]

OutLOUD information card published by YouthCare and the AIDS Prevention Project. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-15.]

OutLOUD information card published by Entre Hermanos and the AIDS Prevention Project. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-15.]

OutLOUD information card from the Northwest AIDS Foundation and the AIDS Prevention Project. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-15.]

OutLOUD information card sponsored by the AIDS Prevention Project and the Northwest AIDS Foundation. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-6-15.]

AIDS Prevention Project Staff

: AIDS Prevention Project staffmember Jon Leonard. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-22.]

: AIDS Prevention Project front desk staff [unidentified]. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-22.]

: AIDS Prevention Project AIDS Hotline Specialist Will Jones. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project HIV Counselor Larry Handis. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: 1992 ribbon cutting at new AIDS Prevention Project location in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Dr. Robert Wood, Public Health Director David Lurie, an unknown person, and King County Executive Tim Hill. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-15.]

: AIDS Prevention Project nurse practitioner Carol Dunphy, ca. 1987. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-19.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Data Analyst Tianji Yu. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project HIV Counselor Edith Allen. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project nurse practitioner Joanne Tilton. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-19.]

: AIDS Prevention Project AIDS Hotline Specialist Lillian Rae. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project nurse practitioner Carol Dunphy. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-19.]

: Demonstration of second visit to AIDS assessment clinic. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-15.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Client Intake Receptionist Doris Harris. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: Demonstration of first visit to AIDS assessment clinic. Frank Chaffee (posing for photo as patient) and nurse practitioner Joanne Tilton. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-15.]

: AIDS Prevention Project staff John Leonard, Carolyn Dawson (a.k.a. Haley) and Kathleen Smith. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-18.]

: AIDS Prevention Project AIDS Hotline staff Anne McCaffray], (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-21.]

: Carolyn Dawson (a.k.a. Haley) and Mark Fleming (?). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-18.]

: 1992 Governor’s AIDS Service Award for Public Service, awarded to Patricia McInturff (left), Regional Division Director for the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. With her are State Representative Gary Locke (center) and Washington State Governor Boothe Gardner (right).

: AIDS Prevention Project Educator Ann Downer, late 1980s. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-18.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Director Dr. Bob Wood. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-17.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Education Specialist Javier Amaya. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Program Manager Tim Burak. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-17.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Education and Outreach staff Cevero Gonzales, (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-18.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Client Intake Receptionist Doris Harris, (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-21.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Program Manager Tim Burak. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-17.]

: AIDS Prevention Project AIDS Education Specialist Javier Amaya (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-20.]

: AIDS Prevention Project AIDS Hotline staff Lillian Rae, (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-20.]

: AIDS Prevention Project HIV Counselors Patricia Jones, Larry Handis, and Edith Allen, (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-20.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Director Bob Wood at AIDS Walk, 1989. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-31.]

: AIDS Prevention Project office support staff [unidentified], (circa 1985-1990). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-21.]

: AIDS Prevention Project HIV Prevention Planner Karent Hartfield and others at 1989 AIDS Walk. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-31.]

: APP HIV tester/counselor Mark Charonis. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-11.]

: Carolyn Dawson (a.k.a. Haley) and APP staff member (unknown). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-11.]

: Charlie Price. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-10.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Epidemiologist Sharon Hopkins. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-10.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Data Analyst Keith Okita. [Photo courtesy of Tim Burak.]

: AIDS Prevention Project Health Educator Ann Downer. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-10.]

: AIDS Prevention Project staffmember (unidentified). [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-10.]

: Bill Ford. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-9.]

: AIDS Prevention Project HIV Prevention Planner Karen Hartfield. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-9.]

: 1989 open house for AIDS Prevention Project location on Summit and Seneca. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-2.]

: 1989 open house for AIDS Prevention Project location on Summit and Seneca. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-9-2.]

: AIDS Prevention Project staff on retreat, 1988. [Series 1825, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. 1825-10-24.]

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May 22, 2016 · by King County Archives

AIDS: no longer a death sentence

Robert Wood on the development and impact of effective treatment. (Oral history interview, June 2016.)

New medications: a sea change

In 1994, researchers reported that the medication AZT was found to decrease the chance that babies of HIV-infected women would be born HIV-infected. Testing and treatment for pregnant women were quickly adopted. The new medications were also found to be effective in slowing or preventing AIDS-related illness in HIV-positive individuals. At first, treatment was provided to those who were close to becoming ill with AIDS. Then, from 2009, increasingly earlier treatment proved to be more effective in preventing illness, and, more recently, antiretroviral medications have been found to be effective in preventing new HIV infections.

The availability of effective treatment changed people’s views on testing, partner notification, and HIV case reporting, as early knowledge of one’s HIV-status could prove life-saving. No longer a death sentence, HIV came to be regarded with less stigma and fear. A negative impact of this change was that some people began to abandon safer-sex practices, leading to an increased incidence of other STD’s, in response to which Public Health renewed its education and prevention efforts.

The epidemic peaks

1996 was the first year the CDC reported a national decline in AIDS deaths, attributed both to new medications and a slowing of the epidemic and new cases of HIV.

In the third quarter of 1996, Dr. Robert Wood, looking back at the first ten years of AIDS control, announced in the state’s HIV/AIDS Quarterly Epidemiology Report “the first (and very welcome) news that the local AIDS epidemic has reached a peak.”

AIDS in
King County

1995

577 new cases
2,852 deaths to date

1996

493 new cases
3,164 deaths to date

1997

319 new cases
3,302 deaths to date

But, continued Dr. Wood, it was no time to slacken efforts. People were still becoming sick and dying. Continued and increased support for prevention programs was needed, including “clear and explicit communications about the behaviors which presented risks, and [about] realistic steps to maintain safety…. Our youth are at greatest risk….”

“I think it has been beneficial for society to have had to struggle with a very serious disease for which there is yet no cure or preventative vaccine. [Instead of relying on medicines], HIV control has had to rely on…behavior change, targeting socially disparate and disadvantaged communities.

“More frighteningly than many diseases, HIV has also highlighted for us the tight interconnections between diseases and social factors like poverty, homelessness, stigmatization, discrimination, and lack of fully effective sex and drug education.”
– Dr. Robert Wood, 1996.

HIV today in Seattle and King County

By 2015, HIV infection rates had dropped by one-third nationwide. Most of that decline occurred among heterosexuals and injection drug users. On the national level, the infection rate among men who had sex with men remained the same.

But, in contrast to other areas of the country, Seattle-King County showed a decline in HIV among gay men.

In a July 2014 radio interview, Dr. Matthew Golden, director of the Public Health Department’s combined HIV/STD program, credited several historical factors contributing to the department’s comparative success in combatting AIDS:

Better funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Washington State and King County than nationally
A demographic that did not disproportionately include injection drug users
Excellent collaboration with engaged community groups to bring AIDS prevention messages to groups at risk, particularly gay men
An efficient public health system

“We are benefiting today from a long-term investment in prevention and care,” – Dr. Matthew Golden, 2014.

AIDS is not history

Public Health continues to fight HIV/AIDS today. Between 1996 and March 31, 2016, over 2,000 people in King County died of AIDS. And, in the past five years, over 1,200 people have been newly diagnosed as HIV-positive. (Source: Public Health Seattle/King County HIV/AIDS Quarterly Surveillance Report, through March 31, 2016).

Looking back

The AIDS epidemic has had a lasting impact on the nation, on the region, and on individuals. In the following clips from the oral histories, interviewees reflect on the epidemic and the AIDS Prevention Project.

Heady times and sad times

Patricia McInturff: creating something from scratch.

LGBT rights

Robert Wood and Tim Burak on how AIDS (and the response to AIDS) led to greater acceptance of LGBT individuals.

Behavior change and outreach

Karen Hartfield: bringing the concept of behavior change into the public health, and community-oriented outreach.

Changes in medical practice

Gary Goldbaum: how AIDS activism led to changes in public health and medicine, such as accelerated drug testing and trials.

Personal impact

Sharon Hopkins: the personal impact of working for the AIDS Prevention Project.

Grassroots fundraising

Robert Wood: AIDS Walks as a model for grassroots fundraising campaigns for other diseases and issues.

Stigma and quality care

Gary Goldbaum: how AIDS made us recognize the potential impact of stigma around a disease, and the need for sustained resources to ensure that those in need receive quality care.

The ground shifted

Ann Downer: everything changed with AIDS.

Previous: Safer Sex: The New Normal?

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May 14, 2016 · by King County Archives

In March, 1988, Washington State Governor Booth Gardner signed into law the AIDS Omnibus Act. Because of its sweeping scope, public health orientation, substantial civil rights protection, and statewide approach to providing AIDS care services, the Act was considered the most comprehensive and progressive statewide approach to AIDS policy in the United States at the time. It served as a model for legislation in other states.

The Washington State AIDS Omnibus Act, signed on March 23, 1988. The law primarily amended RCW Chapter 70.24 — Control and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Source: Washington State Revised Code of Washington Chapter 70.24.

Expanding Education: Condoms in Schools

The AIDS Omnibus Act required AIDS education in public schools for grades 5 through 12. The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, which had supported outreach programs to schools since the mid-1980s, now undertook new initiatives.

In 1995, student focus groups at West Seattle High School provided feedback on this pamphlet, “You Are Not Alone.” As a result, Public Health decided to make several changes, including removing the image of the hairy palm in the upper left, because the focus group did not understand the reference.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-18]

1992 report prepared for the Seattle School District.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-4-20]

The AIDS Omnibus Act required school curricula to focus on “the dangers of sexual intercourse, with or without condoms” and to promote abstinence, while also providing accurate information on AIDS prevention. When Washington State’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS recommended that condom use be included in AIDS education, the Department found itself in the middle of a public debate.

Educational programs and materials provided detailed information to promote accurate understanding of condom use and STD prevention. Many saw these campaigns as encouraging teen sex. Some objected to teaching condom use in schools with the argument that condoms were ineffective in preventing HIV infection. The Department challenged this view with a report distributed throughout the Seattle School District in 1992.

“Concerned Grandparents, Parents, and Teens” of Kirkland, Washington, produced this brochure objecting to the education program prior to public meetings that were required under the Act. Parents had the choice to opt out of AIDS education for their children.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-2-35]

Cover of a brochure produced with input from the West Seattle High School student focus group in 1995.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-2-35]

Cover of brochure (art by Keith Haring) that was independently distributed, along with condoms, at Seattle area schools in 1992 by the local youth caucus of ACT UP.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-4-20]

Controlling HIV while protecting civil rights

Discrimination due to the stigma of being HIV-positive was so potentially damaging that lawmakers saw the need to change long-standing public health policies. With other diseases, there had been less concern for protecting patient privacy. Practices such as reporting names to local and state health offices, forced testing, and notifying partners of an infected individual were standard.

From the beginning of its response to AIDS, the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health had held firm that protecting patients’ privacy was critical to an effective program. They argued that if people trusted the Department and its community partners, they would be more likely to get tested and engage in prevention efforts.

The AIDS Omnibus Act created standard, statewide rules in an effort to balance civil rights and patient privacy with public health and safety. In practice, implementation could still prove challenging.

In 1991, the AIDS Prevention Project developed this brochure to help health care providers understand the how and when to report HIV and AIDS cases to public health officials.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program.

New protections under the Act

Gary Goldbaum on how AIDS and the AIDS Omnibus Act changed public health practices. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Balancing interests: mandatory testing

Frank Chaffee served as the Public Health Official who screened cases where mandatory testing or partner notification might be required. (Oral history interview, October 2015.)

The Steven Farmer Case

In 1987, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Seattle resident Steven Farmer with felony exploitation of a minor for taking inappropriate photographs of teenage male prostitutes. (The subjects were 16 and 17—the age of sexual consent in Washington State. The state’s exploitation law, however, protects individuals under 18.) The photos had been seized in what was found to be an illegal search, causing the charges to be reduced to a misdemeanor in a plea bargain.

After receiving a tip and corroboration from Farmer’s acquaintances that Farmer had told them he was HIV-positive, prosecutors sought to increase his sentence, accusing him of deliberate endangerment. Farmer denied he was HIV-positive.

Amidst an increasing public outcry, the court ordered that Farmer be tested for the virus without his consent. The results (positive) were presented in open court by the head of the Public Health Department’s STD Program, Dr. Hunter Handsfield, who appeared at the request of the presiding judge.

The test in question was not performed by Seattle-King County Public Health nor by the AIDS Prevention Project. But the court-ordered disclosure of Farmer’s HIV status by a Public Health official caused people to question whether the Department was protecting patient confidentiality. APP staff worked to rebuild trust and reassure critics that case records were indeed maintained in confidence.

Seattle P-I article on the Steven Farmer case, which was highly publicized in local media.

Series 1342 – Issue Files, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1342-1, 1342-6]

The State Supreme Court later found that the judge had acted outside his authority. In 1994, when he was dying of AIDS in jail, Farmer was granted clemency by Governor Mike Lowry.

The case highlighted legal and civil rights questions around forced testing, rules for which were set out in the AIDS Omnibus ACT. The prosecution was seen by some as deliberately targeting Farmer amidst a wave of anti-gay/AIDS hysteria, with media coverage stoking the public’s fear. Prosecutors held that the case was about protecting vulnerable minors from sexual exploitation and endangerment.

Letter to Michael Brady, president the Dorian Group, from Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michael Hogan, published in the organization’s newsletter (1988).

Series 1342 – Issue Files, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1342-1, 1342-6]

Seattle Gay News piece on the Farmer case, published June 22, 1990, in anticipation of the State Supreme Court ruling.

Series 1342 – Issue Files, History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1342-1, 1342-6]

A prosecutor’s perspective

“There was a real mix of reactions back at that time, obviously illustrated by the fact that the judge had to be escorted out of the courthouse.

….there was a real public health concern and there was a real concern for these kids. They’re vulnerable, they live on the street, they don’t have any support system. You know, when we look at human trafficking issues today – when I look back at that time, at those boys, they didn’t really have anything or anybody. So part of the concern was making sure they’re protected in all respects, not just from HIV but from sexual assault or any kind of exploitation. We didn’t have the kind of mindset back then…the sensitivity that we have today. I think our office had that, but I don’t know if it was as widespread as it is today, where we embrace our vulnerable and try to make sure that they’re protected.

….it was an important moment in history and it was one where you had concerns about public safety…where a judge found there should be a test compelled. Of course our system works when it goes all the way to the Supreme Court and they can say yea or nay, and they said that was exceeding authority. The thing is, our laws are always changed through the courts…. Our courts really have to handle some of these social, impactful issues.

I think we had the first Special Assault Unit in the country in Seattle, and we had a long-term prosecutor that was extremely fair and principled, so if a case is to be tested anywhere on that issue, I think King County would be one of the best places, if not the best…to deal with the issue.”

Anne Bremner, Prosecutor in the Special Assault Unit of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office 1983-1988. Bremner prosecuted the initial case against Farmer. (Anne Bremner. Oral history interview, October 2015.)

A softer approach

Some felt that public health agencies should take a more aggressive approach to testing, tracing contacts, notifying partners, and reporting HIV infections. The Seattle King County Department of Public Health argued that a softer touch worked better to keep people engaged and to fight HIV’s spread.

Debate over closing bath houses

Gary Goldbaum explains why Public Health chose not to pursue shutting down bath houses. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Debate over mandatory testing

Hunter Handsfield argues that a heavy-handed approach to HIV testing would have worked against the goal of containing the epidemic. (Oral history, September 2015.)

AIDS activism’s impact on the “Ivory Tower”

Frank Chaffee describes how AIDS activism challenged the medical profession to treat people more humanely. (Oral history interview, January 2016.)

Partner notification: the real true story

Draft of article, “The Partner Notification Field Visit: The Real True Story,” by Frank Chaffee, describing what partner notification was really like. The article was published in the APP’s staff newsletter, The House Organ in 1991.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-1-5]

Order requiring Medical Examination and Counseling, used in cases where an individual appeared to placing others at risk of contracting HIV.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-3-26]

“Behaviors endangering”

Frank Chaffee describes enforcing the AIDS Omnibus Act in cases where a person is knowingly putting others at risk of contracting HIV. (Oral history interview, January 2016.)

Federal funding and the HIV/AIDS Planning Council

The State of Washington provided funding for programs required by the AIDS Omnibus ACT. In 1990, the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act also allocated money to be used for local AIDS programs. The Ryan White Act required establishment of local councils to coordinate distribution of funds.

The first HIV/AIDS Planning Council in King and Snohomish counties was appointed by King County Executive Tim Hill in August 1992 with a membership composed of both Public Health Department representatives and community partners. This was the first time local AIDS funding decisions were consolidated under one regional entity. The Planning Council had to overcome initial opposition from gay and AIDS activists who feared conflicts of interest among Council members, and who questioned the early models used to prioritize and allocate funds. The Council still works today to distribute AIDS funding equitably to organizations in King, Snohomish, and Island counties. By law, one third of the Council members must be agency-unaffiliated people living with HIV who are consumers of care services.

The Council is now known as the Seattle Transitional Grant Area HIV Council. Read more about its work here (external link ).

Who was Ryan White? Click here (external link) to find out.

1992 Governor’s AIDS Service Award ceremony. Left to right: Patricia McInturff, Washington State Representative Gary Locke, and Governor Booth Gardner.

(Photograph courtesy of Hunter Handsfield.)

Leadership and recognition

Patricia McInturff led the Department’s response to AIDS as Section Administrator and then Regional Division Director for the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health from 1982 to 1994. She influenced state and national health policy, such as through her service as co-chair of the Ryan White Title I Council and as a member of the National Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS for the CDC.

In 1992, McInturff was awarded the first Washington State Governor’s AIDS Service Award for Public Service for her work as Regional Division Director.

In 1994, she was awarded the Municipal League of King County’s Public Employee of the Year.

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May 11, 2016 · by King County Archives

A second wave of infections

Ten years into the AIDS epidemic, there was still no cure for AIDS. But new drugs showed promise against AIDS-related diseases. Some, thinking that “AIDS could be treated,” began to abandon safer-sex practices. The HIV infection rate began to climb.

The Public Health Department responded with new outreach efforts, stressing the need to continue practicing safer sex and encouraging condom use. More edgy and explicit materials were designed to catch people’s attention and were narrowly distributed to predominantly gay venues.

AIDS in
King County

1990

328 new cases
237 deaths

1991

353 new cases
321 deaths

1992

371 new cases
316 deaths

Dr. Bob on the resurgence of HIV infections

Letter to Dr. Bob from a reader reflecting on the reasons for his own risky behavior. The letter linked to here includes notes from Frank Chaffee and Dr. Robert Wood on a potential response from “Dr. Bob.”

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-1-5]

“Ask Dr. Bob” column on the problem of men abandoning safer sex practices, published in the Seattle Gay News March 23, 1990.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-1-5]

How do you help people change?

From the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, Public Health saw that condom use was critical to preventing the disease’s spread. The challenge was to help people learn to accept safer sex practices as the norm.

King Condom: resistance to condoms

Frank Chaffee describes the reaction he received distributing condoms before condom use was widely accepted. (Oral history interview, January 2016.)

What was learned about changing behavior

Gary Goldbaum discusses how APP research has informed Public Health efforts at changing people’s behavior. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Believing you can change

Karen Hartfield explains the current understanding of how people’s beliefs affect their ability to change. (Oral history interview, July 2015.)

The Condom Campaign

In 1994 and 1995, Public Health promoted condom use to the general public through a series of signs appearing on Metro buses.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-20]

Tim Burak tells how the committee was formed and discusses how standards have changed. (Oral history interview, July 2015.)

Public standards and the Smut Committee

Standards around what content was considered appropriate for the public (what was “decent”) changed over time. In the 1980s, grant-funded outreach and educational materials had to be vetted by the CDC for approval or censorship. Later, the APP was allowed to form its own review committee, informally referred to as the Smut Committee. Members included health educators, medical professionals, and the media. The APP gradually became freer to create attention-getting content that resonated with at-risk groups. Public Health sought to strike a balance: creating materials that were engaging and accurate, while not crossing over into what might be seen as indecency. The most explicit materials were not designed for the general public and were placed in targeted venues such as gay bars or bath houses.

The Power of a Word

An award-winning poster designed by the ad firm Cole & Weber (at no charge to Public Health) was intended for a gay male audience, but it drew so much attention that Playboy Magazine asked permission to feature it in its Forum section. Public Health expressed concern that publication outside the intended arena (Seattle’s Gay Pride Parade) might jeopardize the program and would serve no legitimate public health purpose. Playboy editors chose to feature the poster regardless, with a jab at local politics.

The “penis poster.”

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-13-2]

Volume 43, No. 5, Playboy Magazine, May 1996.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-2-27]

This poster, similar in design, did not draw the same public attention.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-20]

Stella Seattle

One prominent campaign from this period was Stella Seattle, a serial comic about a health educator and his friends, illustrated by Dominic Cappello using the pen name Paul Hornby. The single-panel comics were printed on postcards placed in gay bars and bathhouses and were published in gay newspapers. Stella Seattle also had a 1995 calendar, mugs, T-shirts, magnets, posters, and, at the end of its run, a comic book with all of the episodes.

AIDS in
King County

1993

2,012 deaths to date

1994

2,454 deaths to date

A Stella Seattle telephone hotline helped the APP evaluate the effectiveness of Stella Seattle’s messages. Readers were invited to respond to a question posed by each comic, like “Do you talk about HIV before having sex?” The comic’s production staff would use this feedback to help guide future Stella Seattle topics and story lines.

Well-received by the gay community and considered effective as an HIV prevention and education campaign, Stella Seattle also faced critics. When it first appeared in 1994, the Stella Seattle hotline was jammed with hostile calls.

Cover of Stella Seattle comic book published at the end of the series in 1995.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-10]

Stella Seattle took many forms. A total of 29,900 postcards like this one were distributed at gay bars and bathhouses over the course of Stella Seattle’s initial 15-episode run.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-10]

OutLOUD

Public Health collaborated with with the Asian Pacific AIDS Council, Entre Hermanos, the Northwest AIDS Foundation, POCAAN, and YouthCare for the OutLOUD campaign (1994-1996). Outreach materials in the form of tabloids, ‘zines, and trading cards told true stories to provide real-life role models for safer-sex practices.

Produced in collaboration with YouthCare, this OutLOUD card tells the story of a gay youth who wants to remain abstinent until he is in a committed relationship.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-15]

In this Spanish-language OutLOUD card produced with Entre Hermanos, the storyteller advises his peers to always use condoms because they “deserve the best.”

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-15]

This OutLOUD card was produced with Asian Pacific AIDS Council. Here a peer talks about being HIV-positive.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-15]

Tabloid-style OutLOUD project update.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-14]

Previous: The AIDS Omnibus Act: New Mandates

Next: The Legacy

May 8, 2016 · by King County Archives

Sharing needles

By 1991, injection drug users accounted for over 25 percent of AIDS cases nationwide. The figure was far lower in King County: three percent, with another nine percent among gay or bisexual men who were also injection drug users.

But with an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 intravenous drug users in King County, over 80 percent of whom shared needles, the risk of AIDS spreading in this community was great. Sharing needles put not only users at risk, but it also risked infecting their sexual partners, as well as the fetuses of pregnant partners.

The Public Health Department’s first strategy was educating users about the risks and distributing bleach to sterilize needles.

Early efforts at fighting the spread of HIV among injection drug users discouraged needle sharing and encouraged people to use bleach to clean syringes.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-5]

Successful needle exchange programs abroad and at home

Needle exchanges originated in Europe, Canada, and Australia around 1984 as a means to minimize the risk of HIV and Hepatitis B transmission among people unable or unwilling to cease injection drug use. New sterile syringes were exchanged for old contaminated ones. Needle sharing and reuse were more likely in states like Washington, where state law prevented the purchase of syringes without a prescription. In the United States, the first publicly funded needle exchange was established in Tacoma in 1988.

Public, professional, and political controversy

Patricia McInturff discusses how she encountered opposition from a colleague and the public, as well as support for needle exchanges from King County Executive Tim Hill and County Councilmember Greg Nickels. (Oral history interview, September 2015.)

Harm reduction

The idea of distributing free syringes was seen by some as encouraging drug use. But the harm reduction approach to public health argued that even when a person’s behavior (in this case, drug use) doesn’t change, the harmful impact of that behavior could, and should, be minimized. Reducing the harm of contracting HIV and spreading it to others took priority over demanding abstinence.

Even if you can’t cure

Gary Goldbaum on how AIDS helped the medical community begin to accept the concept of harm reduction. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Seattle’s first needle exchange

Seattle’s own needle exchange began in March 1989, operated by the local branch of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP).

Stressing the benefits of public oversight, the Public Health Department successfully took over the program from ACT UP two months later and launched the new program with existing city and county funding. It was to be a two‐year pilot program subject to review and evaluation. The program also included referrals to drug treatment and social and health services and distribution of condoms and bleach.

AIDS in
King County

1989

252 new cases
189 deaths

Excerpt from the Department’s 1989 proposal “Needle Exchange: A Pilot Program to Reduce AIDS Among Intravenous Drug Users.”

Series 462 – Project files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [462-7-3]

What is ACT UP?

A grassroots activist group, ACT UP formed in Manhattan in 1987 to draw attention to the AIDS epidemic and to help improve the lives of people with AIDS. From its beginnings, ACT UP used politically savvy demonstrations and civil disobedience to critique the roles of homophobia, racism, sexism, and capitalism in what they saw as an indifferent and flawed national response to the AIDS epidemic.

King County and the City of Seattle, convinced that the program was effective and had not led to an increase in drug use, continued funding the program and have done so to the present day. Seven years later, the Public Health Department could claim that its needle exchange program was “probably the largest legal program in the country” (Dr. Robert Wood, 1996), exchanging over a million needles in that year.

Brochure for the new needle exchange.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-5]

Wallet card showing needle exchange locations and schedule.

Series 459 – Legislative files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [459-1-9]

Robert Wood talks about the needle exchange. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-5]

The Needle Education Outreach Network (NEON) targeted a high-risk group: gay men who injected methamphetamine. A Harm Reduction Group met at the Group Health Medical Center on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-3-17]

Previous: Expanding Outreach

Next: The AIDS Omnibus Act: New Mandates

May 7, 2016 · by King County Archives

The People of Color Against AIDS Network

The People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN), a Seattle-based, multi-racial community coalition, provided HIV/AIDS education and training aimed at Latino, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American communities.

King County’s administrative director for AIDS programs, Patricia McInturff (formerly Patricia Canova), saw that the AIDS epidemic would not spare communities of color. She supported POCAAN’s principles and committed the Public Health Department to working closely and often with the group. In one early collaborative project, POCAAN, using seed money from the AIDS Prevention Project, created the 1988 “Famous Last Words” educational campaign to increase awareness of AIDS among people of color.

Patricia McInturff talks about the need to reach communities who had fewer resources and political connections than did gay activist organizations. (Oral history interview, September 2015.)

“POCAAN’s coalition building effort is to bring people together across color, gender, sexual orientation, agency affiliation and community lines. POCAAN provides a forum for dispelling myths and fears, and for enabling people of color to work together in unity….We must confront the effects of the isolation caused by homophobia in communities of color, and by the racism of the gay/lesbian community.” — from POCAAN’s mission statement

Karen Hartfield describes how Public Health worked with POCAAN. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

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Poster and brochures from the “Famous Last Words” series, published by POCAAN with support from Public Health.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-3-16, 1825-3-20]

AIDS News comic book published by POCAAN in 1988 and the storyboard for the comic.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-3-17, 1825-4-6]

At risk and hard to reach

In 1989 the federal Centers for Disease Control renewed the APP’s original Community Demonstration Project Grant. The grant expanded the program to target hard-to-reach populations, including street youth and sex industry workers. The candid personal stories used by outreach programs such as Street Kids AIDS Training and Education (SKATE) and Girlfriends Talking reflected the reality of people’s lives.

Street Kids AIDS Training & Education

With funding from Public Health, POCAAN produced a series of posters that shared stories from homeless youth learning to adopt condom use and other STD prevention strategies.

People in danger

Karen Hartfield outlines the groups who were at the highest risk of contracting AIDS and who were the focus of the APP’s outreach and education programs.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-12-4]

Girlfriends Talking

The Girlfriends Talking campaign was directed at African American women who were disproportionately affected by AIDS, including women using drugs or working in the sex industry.

AIDS in
King County

1987

290 new cases of AIDS
113 deaths

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-3-13]

Barriers to AIDS Education

Karen Hartfield, APP Education Team Coordinator and founding board member of POCAAN, describes perceptions about AIDS among African Americans in the mid-1980s, when she directed a sexuality education program for parents and their children for the Seattle Urban League. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Robert Wood posits that gay stigma prevents some members of minority communities from obtaining early HIV testing and treatment today. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Outreach to Latinos and Native Americans

Public Health also supported POCAAN campaigns oriented toward the Latino and Native American communities. The posters below were published in partnership with the Seattle Indian Health Board, the Coalition of Latinos in Washington against AIDS, and the Northwest AIDS Foundation and Planned Parenthood.

AIDS in
King County

1988

219 new cases
156 deaths

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-14-1]

Previous: A Leader in Research, Education, and Housing

Next: Needle Exchanges

May 3, 2016 · by King County Archives

Be a Star

With grant funding, the AIDS Prevention Project (APP) undertook research studies.

One of the first (1986) and largest studies was called “Be a Star.” It was a longitudinal study—a study in which data is collected about the same group of individuals over a span of time. The APP developed a way that subjects, gay and bi-sexual men, could participate anonymously.

Anonymity was important for those who were concerned that government agencies might not keep their information confidential and who did not want friends or employers to find out that they identified as gay or that they might be HIV-positive.

Being a Star while remaining anonymous

The APP’s innovative solution to ensuring anonymity was to organize participants into six groups, each named for a “camp” cultural icon.

Every six months the men were reminded through public advertisements that it was time for their assigned “star” group to return to the APP for follow-up interviews and optional HIV testing. With these public notifications, there was no need for APP staff to directly contact participants.

In addition to notification through public advertising, participants received wallet-sized reminder cards like the one shown below to help them remember when to return for their follow-up visit.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13]

Each participant was also assigned a unique code that APP used to track that individual’s data over time without the records being associated with a name.

By the time the study ended in 1992, 2,676 men had participated. Initial data from the study helped the APP target its programming and improve counseling services. Later data assessed the impact of APP interventions on sexual behavior change.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13]

In the above photo from the 1987 Seattle Gay Pride Parade, volunteers portrayed the study’s “stars” to recruit participants. From left to right are Billie Holiday, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Oscar Wilde. The sixth star, not pictured, was James Dean.

Front and back covers of “The Seattle Star,” a semi-annual report targeted to the gay community, summarizing findings from the Be a Star study. The second report is linked to here.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13]

Flyer advertising the Be A Star study.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-6-5]

Personal and profound

Frank Chaffee describes what it was like counseling patients and interviewing study participants. (Oral history interview, January 2016.)

Sharon Hopkins describes research. (Oral history interview, September 2015.)

Wide-Ranging Research

Beyond the Be a Star study, the APP conducted research on an array of topics, many in partnership with the University of Washington, the CDC, and Washington State. By 1988, APP research included blind testing of blood samples at blood banks and hospitals to measure the prevalence of AIDS in the general population; surveys of knowledge and attitudes among students in response to AIDS curricula; research on the cost of AIDS care; validation of the completeness of AIDS case reporting; and studies on the effectiveness of counseling intravenous drug users in prevention methods; among other subjects.

Education campaigns

Much work under the Centers for Disease Control grant centered on reducing risk-taking behaviors among high-risk groups through clinical and peer counseling, through testing, and especially through education.

Education was carried out through the telephone hotline; a Speakers’ Bureau to respond to hundreds of community requests for up-to-date AIDS information; flyers and brochures; media spots and advertisements containing risk-reduction messages and news of available services; and model school curriculum materials.

AIDS in
King County

1986

134 new cases of AIDS
94 deaths

Ask Dr. Bob

One form of targeted education was “Ask Dr. Bob,” an advice column by APP Medical Director Dr. Robert Wood, which appeared in the Seattle Gay News. In the column, Wood responded to readers’ questions about safe sex practices and other AIDS-related issues.

Text of “Ask Dr. Bob” column for the Seattle Gay News (ca. 1989), responding to the question of how to be hopeful in the time of AIDS.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13]

Dr. Robert Wood on the “Ask Dr. Bob” column. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Letter to Dr. Bob and text of response published in the Seattle Gay News, 1989.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-2-13]

Education campaigns aimed at the general public sought to help people understand risks, ease unfounded fears, and reduce the stigma around being HIV-positive.

In 1986, the Public Health Department helped support the Northwest AIDS Foundation’s “Please Be Safe” campaign, using a road-sign theme, urging people to practice safer sex.

Public understanding

Ann Downer talks about the general public’s knowledge about AIDS around 1986. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Poster from the Northwest AIDS Foundation’s “Please Be Safe” campaign, produced with funding from Public Health.

[Image courtesy of the National Library of Medicine Item A025195]

Fear and stigma in the workplace

AIDS education also happened face-to-face. APP educators visited groups who wanted to learn more about AIDS, including work-sites where employees feared contracting AIDS from their co-workers.

Work site visits

Karen Hartfield, describes visiting work sites, including one where an employee had been diagnosed with AIDS. (Oral history interview, July 2015.)

Fighting AIDS discrimination at work

In late 1987, King County Executive Tim Hill issued an executive order, the King County Employee AIDS Protocol, prohibiting discrimination against King County employees with AIDS or the AIDS virus. It also required accommodation for County employees who were ill with AIDS, as was the law for other disabilities.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1861-4-4]

Training for health care providers

Public Health identified and reached out to private doctors who were willing to accept AIDS patients and provided training on safety precautions and how best to treat unfamiliar AIDS-related illnesses. Public Health also coordinated the sharing of clinical information so that doctors in private practice and those at Harborview (the local public hospital specializing in AIDS treatment), could learn from one another’s observations.

Tim Burak and Dr. Bob Wood on how Public Health worked with the medical community to support quality care for AIDS patients.

Cover for the report on the 1987 planning study for housing disadvantaged people, including people with AIDS. Bridging the Housing Gap helped establish the need for housing for people with AIDS, separate from already existing facilities.

Series 872- King County documents collection [872-735]

Housing

The Northwest AIDS Foundation had approached King County in 1985 to help with housing for people with AIDS. In 1986, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded King County a planning study grant to look at housing disadvantaged demographic groups, including people with AIDS. Public Health hired local AIDS activist Betsy Lieberman, whose research demonstrated the need to fund specialized residential care facilities for AIDS victims. With the opening of Bailey-Boushay House in 1992, King County became a model in compassionate end-of-life housing and care for AIDS patients.

Listen to stories of people who have lived at Bailey-Boushay House, the first housing facility specially designed for people with AIDS, on the Bailey-Boushay Web site (external link).

What’s in a name? MSM

Starting in the 1980s, the academic and clinical research communities used a collective term to describe one of the principal risk groups: men who have sex with men (MSM; sometimes ngi-MSM or MWM). This term was viewed as more clinically accurate, as it included men who had same-sex partners but did not personally identify as gay. The abbreviations may also have reassured people who were uncomfortable using the word, “gay.” Some gay men, however, objected to the use of “MSM,” saying that it reduced one’s identity to only a sexual act. In Seattle in the 1990s, an MSM Task Force reorganized as the Gay Men’s AIDS Prevention Task Force, or GayMAP.

Graphic from the 1995 MSM retreat schedule, by “Stella Seattle” artist Dominic Capello.

Series 1861 – Subject files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-5-24]

Previous: The AIDS Prevention Project

Next: Expanding Outreach

May 3, 2016 · by King County Archives

Scientific progress: HIV testing

In 1984, scientists discovered the HIV virus, the cause of AIDS, and developed an experimental antibody test. The test was offered by the AIDS Assessment Clinic and the Seattle Gay Clinic. The Puget Sound Blood Center, in conjunction with the Public Health Department, became a leader in developing blood screening policies.

AIDS in King County

1984

52 new cases of AIDS
18 deaths

1985

82 new cases of AIDS
56 deaths

Controversy around testing

When the HIV test became available, medical treatment was limited. People debated testing’s potential benefits and risks.

Fear of being tested

Ann Downer, AIDS Prevention Project Health Educator. (Oral history interview, 2015.)

Frustrations in the early years

Hunter Handsfield, Seattle-King County STD Program Director (1978-2005), on Public Health services to AIDS patients before effective treatment was available. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Should you or shouldn’t you?

Tim Burak, AIDS Prevention Project Coordinator, discusses community concerns over testing in the early years. (Oral history interview, June 2015.)

In favor of testing

Robert Wood, AIDS Prevention Project Medical Director. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Clipping from the Seattle Gay News, 1986

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-1-11]

Federal funding

The federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), impressed with both Seattle-King County’s ability to obtain local public funding for AIDS work and its collaboration with community groups, awarded the Public Health Department one of the first AIDS Prevention Demonstration Project Grants in the United States, along with Dallas, Denver, Long Beach and New York.

The grant of $365,000 developed model programs: AIDS education for the general public and prevention and control projects among one of the groups of King County citizens at highest risk: men who had sex with men (by far the largest group.) The grant also provided coordination and support for community-based AIDS services, such as the medical resources program of the Northwest AIDS Foundation. A second CDC grant of $70,000 funded epidemiological work.

The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health had made the decision to assume the lead role in applying for and allocating outside funding for local programs. External funding for surveillance, prevention, public education, and support for persons with AIDS would all come through Public Health, with partner organizations as subcontractors. Public Health’s leadership assured that there were no conflicting proposals nor duplication of services.

The AIDS Prevention Project

The grant allowed the Public Health Department to expand its AIDS Program into a more consolidated and independent unit: the AIDS Prevention Project (APP).

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Photos from the AIDS Prevention Project’s open house at its new location on First Hill at the corner of Summit and Seneca.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-9-2]

The project originally had a staff of thirteen: a medical director, a project coordinator, an epidemiologist, a health educator, two information/outreach specialists, two nurse-practitioners, two health advisors (counselors), and a front office staff of three.

Dr. Robert Wood (known affectionately as “Dr. Bob”) was hired as Medical Director for the APP, where he served as until his retirement in 2010. Here he discusses his professional and personal background. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

Flier advertising the APP’s new location and extended hours.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-3-5]

A Place in the Community

Turned away by many potential landlords, in June, 1986, the AIDS Prevention Project finally moved into its new home on Seattle’s First Hill at 1116 Summit Avenue.

Tim Burak talks about finding a location for the program. (Oral history interview, July 2015.)

APP staff formed a close-knit unit. In addition to the daily challenge of assessing, testing, and counseling people who might be diagnosed with AIDS or found to be HIV positive, over the years, some staff members, community partners, and friends would also become ill with AIDS and pass away.

The saddest time

Ann Downer reflects on what it was like working in the APP before treatment was available. (Oral history interview, August 2015.)

AIDS Prevention Project staff on retreat in 1988.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-10-24]

In 1992 the APP moved to a new location in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new space, above from left to right are pictured APP Medical Director Dr. Robert Wood, Public Health Department Director David Lurie, an unidentified person, and King County Executive Tim Hill.

Series 1825 – History files, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health: Prevention Division / HIV-AIDS Program. [1825-9-15]

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