Brendan Gaul, now a documentary producer who grew up in Richboro, spoke to the Thomas Jefferson University class of nursing graduates at their 2022 commencement. Alicia Vitarelli covered his impactful words for 6abc.

Gaul was invited to speak based on his collaborative work on the 2018 film documentary 5B. It is the true story of nurses who voluntarily staffed the first AIDS ward in the nation in 1983. The title comes from the floor on which for HIV-positive patients were treated at San Francisco General Hospital.

“They were all hand raisers,” Gaul explained. “This was at a time when no one understood how HIV and AIDS spread. What they did in San Francisco became the blueprint not only for AIDS care globally, but actually for modern day hospice.”

Nurse Alison Moed, one of the original staff members who served on 5B, accompanied Gaul to the ceremony.

“I answered the call because I cared, because I’m a nurse,” she said. “Nurses care. “We have a duty to care. That’s what we do.”

Moed drew a clear parallel between nurses who served despite personal risk then and those who have done so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5B is available on Amazon Prime for purchase or rental.

More on this story is at 6abc.