Resources obtained through a compensation agreement for the destruction of five neighborhoods in the capital of Alagoas, caused by rock salt mining by Braskem, guaranteed the investment of R$266 million in the purchase of the first municipal public hospital in Maceió. The acquisition of Hospital do Coração was announced yesterday (29) by Mayor João Henrique Caldas, the “JHC (PL), which also signed a partnership to offer services at Hospital Albert Einstein, one of the best medical centers in Latin America”.
Renamed Hospital da Cidade, the private unit that served the elite of Alagoas will now be maintained by the municipal health department and offer free care in the capital where 36.9% of Maceio residents live in poverty, according to data from the Synthesis of Social Indicators – 2022.
The focus of care will be maternity, oncology, diagnostic exams and general surgeries and with the Hospital do Coraçãozinho, to take care of the cardiological health of babies.
The announcement was surprising because it was preceded by mystery about a new “giant” action launched on social media by the mayor who spread tourist attractions such as the giant chair throughout the city and plans to install a Ferris wheel on the Maceió waterfront. Furthermore, the negotiation with the management of Hospital do Coração lasted only 15 days.
“We have emancipated the city’s health once and for all. We will deliver a high standard hospital and begin a new phase of public health in Maceió, just after we have already made a lot of progress, with the launch of several programs, such as Corujão da Saúde and Saúde da Gente, as well as the renovations of the main health units . With a lot of courage and responsibility, deciding to take this step further, presenting this giant and making Maceió reborn. With work, we can change the lives of those who need it most”, highlighted Mayor JHC.
The Maceió City Council’s forecast is that the new City Hospital will serve 20,000 Maceió residents per month, with 220 beds, 40 of which are ICU and 20 semi-intensive.
It is with great joy that I announce the 1st Municipal Hospital in the history of Maceió: the City Hospital
The unit will have a state-of-the-art structure, with 220 beds, 40 ICU beds and 20 semi-intensive beds.
We acquired a ready-made Hospital in the Grotto and are speeding up to get it up and running+ pic.twitter.com/2Jd6I3MrEh
— JHC (@jhcdopovo) September 29, 2023
It’s not a donation, it’s compensation
The new public investment with resources obtained from Braskem is in the Gruta neighborhood, divided only by an avenue on the opposite side of the five neighborhoods in which around 60 thousand victims were expelled from their homes and businesses, due to the geological disaster caused by the excavation. deep and unbridled exploitation of rock salt deposits by Braskem.
According to reports from the Geological Survey of Brazil, the company Braskem is responsible for the collapse of the ground in the largest socio-environmental disaster in an urban area on the planet, which transformed the neighborhoods of Pinheiro, Mutange, Bebedouro, Bom Parto and part of Farol into a ghost town. Geological instability caused earthquakes in Maceió in 2018, which has since worsened.
In July this year, Mayor JHC announced that he had reached an agreement with Braskem for the company to invest R$1.7 billion in compensation for the destruction in Maceió.
