Carol Baltosiewich

Carol A. Baltosiewich is a nurse and former Hospital Sister of Saint Francis noted for her work with HIV/AIDS patients. She is from Belleville, Illinois.[1]

In the 1980s, Baltosiewich was assigned to care for a young gay man dying of AIDS in rural Illinois.[1] Knowing little about AIDS or the gay culture, she convinced her superiors to send her and another sister to Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Greenwich Village New York, a hospital known for their work with both gay and AIDS patients.[1] They also worked at Saint Clare's Hospital in Hell's Kitchen, an institution that served a large homeless and indigent population.[2] She lived in a convent in Hell's Kitchen during her time in New York.[1][3] While there, she visited gay bars, worked on a hotline for those with questions about HIV, and volunteered with the Gay Men's Health Crisis.[3][2]

As part of her ministry, Baltosiewich held the hands of AIDS patients while they died, sometimes when their own families were too afraid to be in the same room as them.[2] She stayed overnight in homes set up for AIDS patients as part of the Good Samaritan Project.[2] In 1988, Baltosiewich founded Bethany Place in Belleville to provide services for those with HIV and AIDS.[1][3][4][5][2][6]

She later left her religious order.[1][3] Baltosiewich also served on a state AIDS commission.[1][3]

References
  1. Michael O'Loughlin (December 29, 2019). "A Catholic Sister learns to serve people with AIDS". Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS & the Catholic Church (Podcast). America. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  2. "Nuns learn by helping victims". The Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, Kansas. Associated Press. November 25, 1988. p. 22. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. O'Loughlin, Michael (January 21, 2019). "The Catholic Nun Who Came to New York to Confront the AIDS Crisis". Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  4. Freeman, Brittany (November 20, 2014). "Bethany Place provides a new kind of home". Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  5. Weichert, Heidi (December 30, 2017). "Bethany Place assists metro-east residents who have HIV or AIDS". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  6. Browning, Daniel R. (June 9, 1991). "Counseling Service for AIDS Victims Gets Ultimatum". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 59. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
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