Donna Stidham, RN has been involved in the care of people with HIV disease since the beginning of the epidemic. She began working with what is now known as HIV/AIDS as a nurse epidemiologist when the first cases of immune deficiency were reported to the Centers for Disease Control.

In 1984, Stidham was instrumental in the opening of the first AIDS inpatient unit in a for-profit community hospital in the U.S. She has continually focused her efforts on developing systems of care that support the expertise necessary to treat people with HIV. Stidham joined AHF in 1994 to lend her expertise in health systems and managed care to the development and implementation of Positive Healthcare, the first capitated managed care program for people with HIV.

In overseeing Positive Healthcare, Stidham has brought current, specialized HIV/AIDS and internal medicine to clients in California and Florida under a chronic care model. The program integrates the provider, patient, and medical system into a team to reach successful health outcomes. It also provides educational opportunities for medical staff, patients, patients’ families, and partners, and the HIV community.

Stidham consults with multiple state Medicaid programs to promote the concept of specialty design for chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS. She is working with AHF’s global leadership to bring managed care health system concepts to resource-poor countries.