Due to the increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, EDP and BTG Pactual joined forces to support the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP (University of São Paulo) in hiring professionals of healthcare to care for patients infected with the virus.
The initiative, carried out in partnership with Cosan, a holding that invests in businesses dedicated to integrated logistics and the diversification of the Brazilian energy matrix, and with the Brazilian pharmaceutical multinational Eurofarma, will enable the hiring of 386 professionals, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and assistants of nursing.
According to EDP, the reinforcement will allow for an increase in service capacity and the opening of 56 new ICU beds and 75 infirmary beds. The expectation is that the new employees, who will have their payroll covered by the four companies, will start working at Hospital das Clínicas in the coming weeks.
“This is a donation that will alleviate the burden on the HC, a reference institution in the treatment of Covid cases and, as a consequence, will benefit the population as a whole”, said João Marques da Cruz, CEO of EDP in Brazil.
Roberto Sallouti, CEO of BTG Pactual, also commented on this action and emphasized that the company remains mobilized in supporting measures to combat coronavirus. “Since last year, we have benefited more than 2,5 million people in 16 Brazilian states. We will continue working to ensure that these initiatives to support health and society reach people as quickly as possible.”
“We, at the Cosan Group, together with our businesses – Raízen, Compass Gás e Energia, Comgás, Moove, Rumo and Trizy – reinforce the commitment we have with society and put our contribution, management and execution capacity at the service of the country and of people to help mitigate the impacts of Covid-19. Every attitude counts on this journey”, highlighted Luis Henrique Guimarães, CEO of Cosan.
Read more: Chamber approves donation of energy credit for essential activities
Maurizio Billi, president of Eurofarma, emphasized that the company, since the beginning of the pandemic, has expanded its efforts in humanitarian aid, with the donation of more than 100 thousand basic food baskets, 800 thousand units of medicines, financial resources for expanding hospital beds and maintenance treatment of cancer patients.
“During this period, our investments totaled more than R$40 million and now, through this new consortium, we are going further by hiring healthcare professionals to activate many beds. And we won't stop here. We continue to pay attention and map the main needs of society to face this battle together”, he highlighted.
For Antônio José Rodrigues Pereira, superintendent of Hospital das Clínicas, this investment by the private sector in health has been fundamental in guaranteeing care for the population in this critical phase of the pandemic.
“Such a resource, specifically, comes at a very important time for HC and will make it possible to pay for the shifts of health professionals recruited for Covid care, at a time when cases are growing exponentially. We are very pleased with this partnership for life.”
