Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle (SF); Monday, October 7, 1991
Catherine Bowman, Chronicle Correspondent
The unit, which is scheduled to open by December, reflects a revised housing policy adopted by the state Department of Corrections in April to end automatic segregation of most HIV-infected inmates.
Inmates infected with the human immunodeficiency virus will continue to be housed together at San Quentin, but for the first time, they will be allowed to work, exercise and eat with other prisoners.
Chris Cummings, a health program administrator with the Department of Corrections, said the special unit is needed because "we're getting a lot of parole violators from the Bay Area who have HIV disease."
Although San Quentin will keep its existing 50-bed ward for HIV-infected inmates at the prison infirmary, officials believe that it will be easier to provide counseling and other programs if the inmates live together in one room.
"One of the things we've learned from the HIV-infected inmates is that they look to each other for support," Cummings said.
George Mosqueda, program administrator for the new ward, said various AIDS support groups from the community will continue to work with inmates to prepare them for life outside prison.
"It's not as restrictive as the infirmary," he said. "Our goal is to get them back into society and live as much of an active life as possible while they're learning to live with this disease."
The unit will be opened in an old prison gym that has recently been used to house inmates when the main cell blocks were full.
Mosqueda said it will house minimum- or medium-security inmates who are in the early stages of the disease. HIV-infected inmates will not be allowed to work in the infirmary or kitchen, he said. The prison also will not accept acutely ill inmates with AIDS.
Robert Ferroggiaro, vice president of the San Quentin chapter of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said he is not opposed to allowing HIV-infected inmates to mix with other prisoners, but he does not believe they should be housed in a dormitory.
Instead, he said, the inmates should be housed in cell blocks.
"It's one, big huge room," he said of the new unit. "If they live in a dorm setting, then they could be doing things they're not supposed to be doing more easily than if they were in a cell."
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