Further, managers must be trained to implement policy and employees must be educated so that they can reduce the spread of the disease and improve relations with infected coworkers. At that time, some DEC workers were even afraid to install computer systems in hospitals caring for AIDS patients, believing they could catch it by breathing the air or touching something in the room. From a company with no AIDS policy and no support system, DEC has gone on to become the only major firm in the United States with a corporate department working full-time on the problems of AIDS in the workplace. However, DEC's AIDS Program's office manager is proud of the education program built on this base. The program not only teaches managers to respond skillfully within company guidelines but also creates a sympathetic environment in which workers feel free to tell supervisors about their illnesses.
Workers learn how the disease is spread and what the law says regarding employee rights.
They also learn to deal with psychological problems, such as fear or panic, which can deeply affect personal and professional lives. DEC writes and distributes a pamphlet containing medical facts, company guidelines and benefits, and a list of places to go for help, both inside DEC and in the larger community. To bring the reality of the disease home to its employees, DEC invites people infected with HIV to speak at training sessions. Of those, he is the only one still alive. To date, DEC has trained more than half of its 123,000 personnel, both managers and nonmanagers.