The Ministry of Health published, in the Official Gazette of the Union this Friday (06/08), Ordinance No. 1,842, signed by Minister Marcelo Queiroga, which formalizes the change in category of the Anita Garibaldi Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER Anita) located in the rural area of Macaíba, from III to IV. From now on, in addition to rehabilitation services for hearing, intellectual and motor disabilities, CER IV Anita, operated by the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), will begin to serve patients with visual impairment.

The first CER IV in Greater Natal, and the second in Rio Grande do Norte, will serve patients from the 7th Health Region, which includes the cities of Macaíba, Natal, Parnamirim, Extremoz and São Gonçalo do Amarante. This region has 1,371,945 inhabitants, which corresponds to almost 39% of the population of Rio Grande do Norte. To finance the procedures, the Ministry of Health will make an annual contribution of R$ 1,740,000.00. 

“This change in category is a great achievement and will help meet this existing demand, which is to rehabilitate people with visual impairments. The CER IV Anita Garibaldi will ensure that this rehabilitation is associated with research, teaching and extension. We will use our expertise in the areas of neuroscience and neuroengineering to expand assistance to people,” says Lilian Lira Lisboa, manager of the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (Anita), which concentrates the CER’s services. 

Ordinance GM/MS No. 1,842 was signed by the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, on August 5 and published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Friday (06/08). The document “changes the qualification of the Specialized Rehabilitation Center – CER and establishes a resource from the Block of Maintenance of Public Health Actions and Services – Specialized Care Group, to be incorporated into the financial limit of Medium and High Complexity – MAC of the State of Rio Grande do Norte and Municipality of Macaíba”. 

“From the point of view of assistance, we will offer quality care to people with visual impairments. There is a gap in the rehabilitation of these people and we intend to provide this support to the network. From the point of view of training, we will train professionals with a different perspective on people with visual impairments and their need for rehabilitation,” says Camila Simão, coordinator of Physical Rehabilitation at CER Anita Garibaldi. 

The Ministry of Health considered “the approval within the scope of the Bipartite Intermanagerial Commission – CIB/RN No. 1,662/2020, dated September 17, 2020; and the documentation presented by the Municipality of Macaíba/RN in SAIPS Proposal No. 134278 and the corresponding evaluation by the General Coordination of Health for Persons with Disabilities – Department of Specialized and Thematic Care – CGSPD/DAET/SAES/MS, contained in NUP-SEI No. 25000.014128/2021-14” to approve the change in category from CER III to IV.

For Marilene Soares, coordinator of the State Network for People with Disabilities at the State Department of Public Health (SESAP/RN), the Anita Garibaldi CER IV will be the only one in Greater Natal. “This is very good news. It is the second CER IV in Rio Grande do Norte, and the first in the metropolitan region of Natal. With it, we will expand comprehensive care for people with visual impairments, from exams to ocular prosthetics,” says Marilene Soares. In the coming days, representatives from SESAP are expected to meet with managers from the Santos Dumont Institute to discuss expanding care via CER IV.

“We didn’t have any services of this type in the 7th Health Region. And I believe that it will not be restricted to the 7th Region. We will talk to expand it to all municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte, as there is a huge lack of services for people with visual impairments,” says Marilene Soares. 

Resources

The publication of the Ministry of Health establishes resources from the Maintenance Block of Public Health Actions and Services – Specialized Care Group, in the annual amount of R$ 1,740,000.00 to be incorporated into the financial limit of Medium and High Complexity – MAC of the State of Rio Grande do Norte and Municipality of Macaíba.

The National Health Fund will adopt the necessary measures for the regular and automatic transfer of the amount established in art. 2, to the Municipal Health Fund of Macaíba, IBGE 240710, in monthly installments, through an authorization process forwarded by the Secretariat of Specialized Health Care. 

Historic

SAS/MS Ordinance No. 1,430, of October 17, 2016, confirms the qualification of the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Health Research, CNES 6058256, as a Specialized Rehabilitation Center - CER III, in the Municipality of Macaíba. The work effectively began in 2017 and thousands of people have already benefited.