There are currently 1.5 million people in the United States infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. In the next five to ten years, this nation's health care facilities and medical schools could be inundated with staggering numbers of the sick and dying. Unless our osteopathic and allopathic colleges and allied health care centers are adequately prepared for this crisis, many of these people will not receive adequate care. A recent survey conducted by Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) revealed that many osteopathic colleges do not have a formal policy to deal with the multiple complex issues of the AIDS epidemic. This brief article reviews the approach which OU-COM took to correct this deficiency. In addition, the article includes OU-COM's conclusions and recommendations regarding many of the salient issues, with a discussion of the rationale behind those conclusions.