Representatives from the Ministry of Health visited this Friday (06/08), the units of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) in the rural area of Macaíba (RN). The delegation got to know the laboratories, clinics, projects and activities developed by the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences (IIN-ELS) and the health services provided to the population at the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (Anita). At the end of the visit, the team from the ministerial body stated that the structure and quality of patient care provided by ISD professionals was surprising.

The executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Rodrigo Moreira da Cruz, leader of the delegation, analyzed what he saw positively. “I leave here very impressed with the structure of the Institute. The idea of integrating research with assistance is very interesting. We saw all the structures, all the facilities and saw the motivation of the young people, of everyone who studies. It's always great when we see that public resources are being well used. The Ministry of Health sees it very favorably and we have been studying and talking and we will, yes, think about new partnerships and see how the Ministry can support the Institute to improve the research and assistance aspects”, he highlighted.

The coordinator of the Anita Garibaldi Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER Anita), Hougelle Simplício, presented a history of the projects and activities developed by ISD in its two units. Simplício listed some projects developed by ISD in a pioneering way in Brazil and around the world, such as the installation of the first postgraduate course in Neuroengineering and research related to the brain-brain interface between animals, respectively. 

The delegation from the Ministry of Health was made up of Alessandro Glauco dos Anjos Vasconcelos, deputy secretary; Sérgio Yoshimasa Okane, secretary of the Secretariat of Specialized Health Care; Márcio Arbach, project director; by the superintendent of the Ministry of Health in Rio Grande do Norte, Midya Hemilly Gurgel de Souza Targino; and by the Ministry's social worker and career employee, Fabiana Figueiredo. 

From this visit, the Santos Dumont Institute and the Ministry of Health should further strengthen the dialogue to sign cooperation agreements focusing on technological and human capital development to improve care for the population through the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde) ( SUS). 

Representing the ISD during the visit were Jovan Gadioli dos Santos, administrative director of the Institute; Lílian Lira Lisboa, manager of the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center; Edgard Morya, manager of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences; Lorena Santiago, coordinator of the Multiprofessional Residency; Camila Simão, coordinator of Physical Rehabilitation and Samantha Maranhão, coordinator of Health Teaching Activities.