April 8, 2008

The Rise and Fall of a Prominent AIDS Doc

In an April 7 feature in New York Magazine (nymag.com, 4/7), writer David France chronicles the rise to prominence and troublesome fall of Dr. Ramon A. “Gabriel” Torres, former director of AIDS programs at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in New York, and well-respected AIDS doctor, researcher and advocate.

According to the article, Torres became first involved in the AIDS epidemic in 1983 during a medical training rotation at St. Vincent’s. He went on to write numerous articles about HIV/AIDS, including the nation’s first study of HIV prevalence among homeless men—an influential report that led to his being offered the top AIDS post at St. Vincent’s in 1989.

“Torres’s ingenuity and passion for the work made him a kind of cult figure,” France writes.

However, in the mid-’90s, Torres began experimenting with drugs—a decision that would lead to his losing his standing among top AIDS experts in the country, getting his medical license suspended, losing his apartments in Manhattan and Miami beach, and facing felony charges, the article reports.

The direct cause for Torres’s downward turn—and that of other less-famous but well-respected AIDS doctors, according to the article—is hard to pinpoint. However, experts say that it was inevitable for someone who faced the early AIDS epidemic day after day. “If you’re a doctor in the midst of all of that, and you’ve got hundreds of patients, and every one of them is facing death and is terrified, of course you’re going to crack up,” says playwright and activist Larry Kramer in the article. “You wouldn’t be a human being if you didn’t.”

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Previous Comments:

Todd A Hagedorn, Minnesota, 2008-04-11 09:32:25
Please remember to say "THANKS" to all your health care providers because this is tough on them as is is on us! Remember they are humans also, and need our support by doing what they ask us to do in keeping well. I am newly diagnosed with HIV, and I want my health professionals around for a long time to keep me health, and I want to live a long time. Everyday I am learning how to live with HIV, fighting depression and anxiety, and if it wasn't for my health professionals, I wouldn't be here

ecrite, , 2008-04-08 20:56:28
I think this introduction is misleading as NYM article is not about Torres as a person, but to give life for what kind of pressure health professional during that time had to deal with on HIV/AIDS issues before 1996 where HAART became in use. His drug abuse can be seen as a kind of self medication and not "experimentation" which for me imply recreational abuse. Point of this art. is to address a need for those involved in pre-HAART period to get correct help, support and treatment.