The Society For AIDS Care was established in 1994 and initially providing community based home care service for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). It was the pioneer community based direct care service implemented in Hong Kong.

In 1996, the government leased the Tai Po Lookout to SAC. We launched the Lookout Residential Care Centre to provide hospice care for our members. The service was first operated in June 1997 and was successfully transformed to a center based rehabilitation center in Kowloon after the closure of the hospice service on the first of June 2000.

The Lookout functioned as a 24-hour residential medical center that offered day-care as well as in-patient service, particularly for terminal patients. It was recognized as Asia's first and only 24-hour residential medical care centre at that time. Facilities were also set up for patients' families to stay overnight when they needed to. On top of these, the Lookout was a center for physiotherapy and counseling to help patient maintain good physical and psychological health. An integration of services was provided by a team of specifically trained doctors, nurses and social workers in palliative care. It was closely associated with other Hong Kong SAR medical bodies such as the Department of Health AIDS Unit and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Special Medical Unit to provide more comprehensive care to patients. In addition, the Lookout provided educational and experimental training for medical personnel in AIDS care.

Most of the patients admitted when the Lookout first operated were kicked out by their families, who could not tolerate the notion of living under the same roof with relatives contracted with HIV. They had low chance of survival unless they had a high insurance premium or were able to afford treatment overseas. Two of the seventy-three patients died during their stay at the Lookout. The bungalow served as a quiet sanctuary for these patients. With the advancement of AIDS treatment, demand for hopsice service for AIDS care declined drastically with the emergence of antiretroviral drugs, which profoundly lengthen the life span of AIDS patients. Taking a combination of several drugs, patients are expected to live as long as they remain on medication. The plan for expansion was eventually abandoned as dedicated hospice facilities were no longer widely needed as before. Access to medical care in public hospitals was much easier. Thereon, the Lookout put its focus on nursing care and counseling instead of medical services. It served as a "mid-way home" for patients to rebuild self-esteem and helped them integrate into the community by providing space and time for them to organize themselves.

Funding for the Lookout ceased in the third year of the Project on the grounds that the Project performed overlapping functions as other hospice services provided by public hospitals. The SAC could not find sufficient financial support for keeping the running of the Lookout. Moreover, resorting to life in a remote part of the New Territories was unnecessary as AIDS patients under cocktail therapy were able to lead a more or less normal life at home. Falling short of demand, together with the drying up of funds, prompted the SAC's decision to put an end to the Project in February, 2000. The last two patients at the Lookout was transferred to other medical centers and marked the official closure of the Lookout at the end of May, 2000. Although the Lookout Project did not last long, it was a pioneering experiment to introduce hospice service into the existing medical system. It brought insights to other health projects as in the importance of considering medical development and patients needs.