AIDS Memorial Quilts on full display at Santa Rosa's Kaiser Permanente to commemorate World AIDS Day

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- In the North Bay, dozens of people gathered in Santa Rosa to commemorate World AIDS Day. A time meant to raise awareness of efforts to fight the deadly disease and remember those who died from it. On Monday, a portion of the AIDS memorial quilt was on display in Sonoma County.

Friends and relatives are remembering loved ones, lost to the HIV/AIDS. A commemoration happening at Kaiser, Santa Rosa Medical Center.

World AIDS day has been marked globally every December first since 1988.

"I've never been healthier in my life, I've been positive for 25 years, I just turned 50, so I'm celebrating a lot," said Nicole Price from Santa Rosa.

Price is a long-term HIV survivor.

"I like to share my story because I think it's important for women to get tested, and all populations. If you know your status, you can live a long healthy life HIV happy," Price added.

The virus has killed 44 million people worldwide. Doctors say advancements in HIV prevention have been groundbreaking.

"We're now seeing injectable methods, where you can get an injections every other month, and looking down the pipeline to an every six month injection," said Dr. Jessica August, Chief of Infectious Disease, Kaiser Santa Rosa Medical Center.

"But at the same time, there's still a level of sorrow which comes on World AIDS Day. We're still seeing new diagnoses, at a time we shouldn't need to," August added.

A small section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt is on loan to the hospital this month.

Leonard Robinson helped design one of the first panels in the 1980s.

"I made a panel for a friend of my brothers, who I never met, he loved flowers, so I put roses in it," Robinson said.

This year, the Federal Government is not commemorating World AIDS Day like it has in decades past.

"We know holding this ceremony is an act of resistance against those who want to deny its importance," said Merideth Cahn, Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Spiritual Adviser.

These loved ones, friends and survivors, pausing for one day to remember the past and look to the future.