Nurses on the Inside: perspectives on the early years of the HIV pandemic in New York City

Ellen Matzer and Valery Hughes, authors of the book Nurses on the Inside, will share their firsthand experiences as nurses during the early years of the HIV pandemic in New York City. Their work in the Intensive Care Unit at the former Roosevelt Hospital, located on Manhattan’s west side, marked a turning point—not only in their professional lives but in the broader landscape of global healthcare.

Ellen and Valery’s journey to Roosevelt Hospital and the events that unfolded there profoundly impacted both their careers and the world at large. Their approach to caring for individuals infected with HIV shaped their views on nursing, compelling them and their colleagues to take a stand and make their voices heard. The stories documented in their book reveal the challenges, resilience, and dedication required in the face of a relentless epidemic.

Spanning the years from approximately 1979 to 1999, Nurses on the Inside offers deeply personal narratives that are, at times, intensely emotional and distressing. Ellen and Valery wrote this book to ensure these experiences are not forgotten and to remind the world of the impact and significance of this period in medical history.

To reserve a copy of Nurses on the Inside (independently published, June 18, 2025, paperback, $22.99) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Nurses on the Inside for January 10 event” in the subject line.

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You can also purchase Nurses on the Inside (click on link below) on our online shop at bookshop.com/shop/bgsqd:

Nurses on the Inside

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

The Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books.

All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD

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Ellen Matzer, RN, and Valery Hughes, FNP, RN (retired), were both born in the 1950s and entered the nursing profession just two years apart. Fate would later bring them to the same hospital in New York City in the late 1970s, where they began caring for a growing cluster of young men presenting with a troubling and unfamiliar constellation of symptoms. The cases were concerning, yet baffling.

What Ellen and Valery did not know at the time was that they were witnessing the earliest emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City. In an era before social media, computers, or cell phones, information traveled slowly, and they initially believed this mysterious illness might be confined to their own intensive care unit. Only later did it become clear that similar cases were appearing across the United States and around the world.

For decades, Ellen and Valery remained on the frontlines of HIV/AIDS care, providing skilled nursing, compassion, and advocacy through a period marked by fear, stigma, and profound loss. They continued their work until AIDS evolved from a fatal diagnosis into a treatable, outpatient chronic condition.

Their lived experiences are documented in their book, Nurses on the Inside: Stories from the Frontlines of the AIDS Epidemic, first released in 2019 and reissued in 2025 with updated forewords. Today, Ellen and Valery remain active advocates and educators within the LGBTQ community and speak frequently about the lived realities of the earliest years of the epidemic, ensuring that the history, lessons, and humanity of that era are not forgotten.