Rio de Janeiro City Hall inaugurates new wings of the Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes hospitals.

The Rio City Hall and the Federal Government inaugurated new facilities at the Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes hospitals this Thursday (04), the date on which the shared management of the units completes one year. The hospitals have been undergoing a total restructuring process, focusing on expanding and improving care. The current stage of inaugurations includes improvements in both units, with emphasis on the delivery of the definitive facilities of the Andaraí Hospital emergency room, which will now have the capacity for 167 thousand visits per year.

Over the past 12 months, the joint work of the Municipal Health Department (SMS) and the Ministry of Health has enabled the reopening of beds and services that had been inoperative for years, with the complete revitalization of various sectors, structural adjustments, and the hiring of more than 4,7 professionals (3.276 in Andaraí and 1.455 in Cardoso Fontes), among other interventions. Under the management of the City Hall, the two hospitals have been increasing the supply of services, which expands the population's access to healthcare and directly impacts the reduction of waiting lists in the regulatory systems.

The Andaraí Hospital increased its offering of procedures through SISREG by 819%, from 1.498 in 2024 to 13.767 in 2025; and by 13% the number of high-complexity vacancies through the State Regulation System (SER), from 4.961 to 5.594. At the Cardoso Fontes Hospital, the expansion of offerings through SISREG was 3.521%, going from 545 vacancies in 2024 to 19.736 this year; and through SER, by 7%, from 2.883 to 3.079. With 69 beds opened, Andaraí now has 392; and Cardoso Fontes, 201 (40 more).

The number of surgeries performed and outpatient visits at both hospitals also increased. Andaraí Hospital went from 3.420 surgeries in 2024 to 4.206 in 2025 up to November, an increase of 23%; and from 33.520 outpatient visits from June to November 2024 to 54.357 in the same period this year, representing a 62% increase. At Cardoso Fontes Hospital, the increase in surgeries was around 32%, going from 2.433 last year to 3.217 this year, up to November; and in outpatient visits, 76%, going from 33.490 to 59.022, from June to October of both years, respectively.

The event marking one year since the transfer of management to the municipality took place this Thursday at the Andaraí Hospital, where new facilities were inaugurated, and was attended by the Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, the Deputy Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere, and the Municipal Secretary of Health, Daniel Soranz. During the ceremony, the officials highlighted the partnership in the management of the two federal hospitals as a model for the Unified Health System (SUS).

"It's a joy to be here inaugurating this new emergency and urgent care area in Andaraí. And today we also celebrate one year of this restructuring of the federal hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with the City Hall. Here in Andaraí, R$ 600 million was invested, both from the Federal Government in construction and also in additional resources for the City Hall to hire more professionals. We went from about 50% bed occupancy rate here to more than 80% bed occupancy rate, and we more than doubled the number of surgical procedures, consultations, and specialized care in Andaraí," said Minister Alexandre Padilha.

"The Rio de Janeiro City Hall has significantly increased the capacity of the Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes Hospitals, even with construction still underway. This is the result of meticulous planning. We have more beds, more services, and more surgeries. It's a partnership between the municipality and the federal government that benefits the people of Rio," added Deputy Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere.

Andaraí Regional Emergency Center

The Andaraí Regional Emergency Center (CER Andaraí) is now operating in its permanent facilities, located on the 1st floor of the hospital complex. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the facility includes three risk assessment rooms; four clinical consultation rooms; stabilization rooms, waiting rooms, suturing rooms, dressing rooms, a hypodermic room with 17 chairs (for medication and nebulization), a blood collection room, and a Social Service room; in addition to a technical room. Reopened in February after a four-year closure, the unit's emergency room had been operating in a temporary location since February. Between June and November 2025, the unit provided 38.325 emergency care services.

– Thanks to the partnership between the Municipal Health Department and the Ministry of Health, the Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes hospitals have grown, with important services reopened and renovated. The Federal Government's investments in these units are essential to expanding and strengthening care for the population of Rio de Janeiro. This proves that collaborative work, when done well, yields concrete results and directly benefits citizens, with the capacity to save lives – says the Municipal Health Secretary, Daniel Soranz.

Another addition to the Andaraí Hospital was the restaurant, which had been closed for 12 years. Equipped with industrial-scale kitchen equipment, the sector is intended for companions of hospitalized patients and healthcare professionals, in addition to providing meals and diets for hospitalized patients. It has a capacity of 3,2 meals per day. By the first half of 2026, all other services at the Andaraí Hospital currently under construction will be open, such as the surgical center, the oncology sector, the imaging centers, the technology park, and the new trauma unit.

In addition to the services reopened this Thursday, the Andaraí Hospital has already reopened the orthopedics sector on the 2nd floor, which had beds closed for more than eight years, the Burn Treatment Center (CTQ) on the 9th floor, the ward on the 10th floor, and the outpatient clinic, among other sectors. With the inauguration of a linear accelerator, essential equipment for the treatment of cancer patients, the oncology sector of the unit also began to perform radiotherapy, expanding the service offered to the population of Rio de Janeiro. The hospital also had a new tomography machine installed, doubling its capacity for performing the examination.

Progress also at Cardoso Fontes Hospital

The minister, the deputy mayor, and the secretary were also at the Cardoso Fontes Hospital in Jacarepaguá this Thursday, where the air conditioning of the beds and the works on building B, which houses the unit's administrative offices and the Center for Studies, were inaugurated. Under the management of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, the emergency room, which provided 10.054 services from June to October, has already been reopened; the Pediatrics sector; 10 pediatric ICU beds; the operating rooms and the clinical ward, which went from 30 to 60 beds, have been expanded, increasing the availability of medium and high complexity hospitalizations.

Currently underway at the unit are the works for the Jacarepaguá Regional Emergency Center (CER Jacarepaguá, the new Cardoso Fontes emergency room), the patient care areas, the new kitchen, and landscaping of the external area. Modernization work is also underway at the imaging center, including the installation of two new CT scanners, one of which is equipped for super-obese patients. The complete restructuring of both units is scheduled for the first half of 2026.

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December 4, 2025

Appointments: Alas emergency Cardoso Fontes Hospital Andarai Hospital sisreg