CORPORATIONS VARY IN RESPONDING TO AIDS.Byline: Diane E. Lewis The Boston Globe A lot has changed since the AIDS epidemic began 15 years ago. Talk to almost any human resource manager these days and you will hear about corporate policies that protect the privacy of HIV-positive employees, policies that guard against discrimination, policies that guarantee full medical coverage and provide flexible hours for those who require regular doctor's visits. But policies are not always enough. Paul A. Ross can attest To solemnly declare verbally or in writing that a particular document or testimony about an event is a true and accurate representation of the facts; to bear witness to. To formally certify by a signature that the signer has been present at the execution of a particular writing so as to that. Back in the late 1980s, Ross was a regional personnel manager at Digital Equipment Corp. when a group of employees refused to install computer equipment at a couple of Boston hospitals. The reason: They were afraid of contracting HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. . ``They did not want to work at any Boston hospitals where AIDS patients were being treated,'' Ross recalled. ``They thought they might contract HIV simply from being in a medical environment where some patients had the virus. They had no idea how AIDS is transmitted.'' Digital responded by developing an AIDS program, and it put Ross in charge. Ross, now worldwide manager of the HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome program office at Digital, is also principal consultant at Paul A. Ross Associates, through which he offers AIDS training programs to corporate customers. On a rainy rain·y adj. rain·i·er, rain·i·est Characterized by, full of, or bringing rain. rain  i·ness n.Adj. day this month, he stood in front of a group of managers at BankBoston and listened with a bemused and knowing expression as they talked about their concerns. Asked to say the first thing that came to their minds when they heard the word ``AIDS,'' participants mentioned ``careless careless adj., adv. 1) negligent. 2) the opposite of careful. A careless act can result in liability for damages to others. (See: negligent, negligence, care) ,'' ``promiscuous,'' ``gay,'' ``drug user,'' ``death'' and ``dying.'' ``Listen to what is being said here,'' said Ross, striding down an aisle. ``Aren't judgments being made? Aren't fingers being pointed? Aren't you saying, `If you weren't sleeping around, you wouldn't have AIDS'? Or `If he has AIDS, he must be gay or she must be a drug user'?'' Heads nodded. A few people smiled. One man wondered whether the virus could be transmitted by a kiss. Asked another: ``Is it more expensive to treat AIDS than cancer?'' BankBoston has been aggressive on the education front. Since 1979, it has tracked the number of cases of full-blown AIDS in locations where it has employees, raised money for the AIDS Pledge Walk, put a range of policies in place and, this year, purchased 22,000 holiday greeting cards See e-card. from the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is a community-based non-profit organization founded in 1983 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic by preventing new infections and optimizing the health of those already infected. , a gesture that likely doubled the nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. organization's card sales this year. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion