The
Institution
he
Association of the Pioneiras Sociais (APS) – a non-profit, privately-run,
autonomous social service association – is the managing institution
of the SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals.
The main goal of the Association, which was created by virtue of law nº 8.246 on October 22, 1991, is to restitute to each citizen the income taxes he/she pays; this "repaying" is done in the form of free quality medical assistance and the training of qualified health professionals, as well as the development of scientific research and technology.
The autonomous condition of this public health network makes it the first non-governmental public Institution in Brazil.
The Association manages the SARAH Network by means of a Management Contract, established in 1991 with the Federal Government, which details the goals, aims and deadlines that are to be met. The administrative principles for reaching these objetives are specified and detailed in manuals used at the Institution.
The
Association’s work program has the following main goals:
| 1 | render quality public health care in locomotor system medicine; |
| 2 | train and contribute to the continuing education of professionals, in addition to promoting scientific knowledge; |
| 3 | generate information in the area of epidemiology, hospital administration, quality control and cost containment on services rendered; |
| 4 | promote educational and prevention activity aimed at minimizing the causes of the main pathologies treated at the Network. |
In
addition to clearly defining the goals to be attained within a specific
time period, the Management Contract also provides the government with
tools to assess the Institution’s results.
The appraisal is conducted by the Federal Audit Court and prioritizes assessment of the final results of the invesed public funds. The quality of the services rendered is gauged by the National Center for Quality Control using universal outpatient and hospital standards.
The financial resources that sustain all the SARAH Network hospitals come exclusively from the federal government. The funds are allocated with specific instructions determining their application in the maintenance of the Management Contract.
The SARAH Network does not receive funding based on the quantity or complexity of the services rendered, as occurs with health institutions affiliated with SUS (Brazil’s governmental health care system).
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