Awards & Recognitions

Lifetime Spirit of Caring Award

Mr. Clifford Morrison is a BSN graduate of FIU’s first graduating class in 1974. He completed an MS in Health Care Management (1976) from FIU and an MS in Community and Mental Health Nursing and Education (1979) from the University of Miami. Mr. Morrison has multiple certifications, including certifications in medical, behavioral health, administration, and HIV/AIDS nursing. In 1979 Mr. Morrison relocated to San Francisco where he was a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Forensic Psychiatric and Medical Surgical Unit at San Francisco General Hospital.

In 1982 a new fatal illness emerged among gay men in San Francisco. The stigma attached to this illness, HIV/AIDS, resulted in these patients being isolated, feared, and often unattended by health care providers. Mr. Morrison became an active advocate for these men. In 1982 he became the first Clinical AIDS Coordinator at San Francisco General Hospital. In July of 1983 he planned and established the first Special Care Unit for persons with HIV/AIDS in the world, implementing innovative ideas in the clinical setting as the AIDS epidemic grew. While still at San Francisco General Hospital, he became the Director of Medical Nursing. As knowledge about HIV/AIDS increased, he developed policies and educated multidisciplinary staff and caregivers in the compassionate care of patients with AIDS.

He served on the AIDS Advisory Committee in the San Francisco Department of Public Health where he developed educational programs. During this time, he collaborated with Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who was noted for her work on death and dying. In 1987 Mr. Morrison was appointed Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation AIDS Health Services Program in the School of Medicine, University of California. The Foundation assisted with establishing care models based on of the San Francisco Model of Care for Persons Living with AIDS in cities across the United States. He continued for 25 years as a clinical professor in the school of nursing at UCSF (1981-2006).

Although he retired in 2022, his advocacy and innovative approach to care are now standard practice across health care settings throughout the world. Mr. Morrison has authored numerous publications in professional journals, book chapters and manuals, and has made countless presentations lectures and consultations in the U.S. and internationally, and interviews related to chronic disease and HIV/AIDS. He has been honored for his many contributions to nursing care for persons who have HIV/AIDS, including the Award of Recognition of Service by the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington D.C. (1985), the Award of Recognition for 25 Years of Service from the Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group (2010), the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (2003), the AMFAR Award of Courage presented at the United Nations (1994), Nurse of the Year from the American Assembly of Men in Nursing (1989), and the Award of Merit for Outstanding Public Service from the county of San Francisco (1986). In 1988, Mr. Morrison was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

In 2019 he was featured in the award-winning documentary film by the Johnson & Johnson Corporation. The film "5B" (the designation of the AIDS unit in the San Francisco hospital) describes the early days of identifying and caring for people with AIDS. His colleague states that Mr. Morrison "continues to be acclaimed and revered for his work among nurses who provide care to the HIV-infected. His fearless patient advocacy, professional wisdom, passion to do the right thing, and unfailing sense of humor continue to be a source of inspiration for me and myriad others.”