Belem Adventist Hospital

Belem Adventist Hospital (Hospital Adventista de Belém, or HAB) is a medical institution of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is part of the Adventist Health International Network. It operates in North Brazil Union Mission (União Norte Brasileira, or UNB) territory, located on Almirante Barroso Avenue, 1758, Zip Code 66093-904, in Marco neighborhood, city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, Brazil.

Currently, HAB offers its clients assistance in 50 different medical specialties.¹ It has 1,300 employees, of which 235 are doctors. In order to provide good care to patients, the hospital infrastructure has 38,000 square meters of space in its buildings, which are distributed over four blocks. The health unit has 170 hospital beds, 58 observation beds, and 11 operating rooms.² The hospital also has an advanced rehabilitation center, which offers physiotherapy in different modalities.³

In addition, HAB has a building that contains 39 doctor’s offices. The institution has a clinical analysis laboratory, which offers exams of different types;⁴ a diagnostics center for image exams such as magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and others;⁵ the most modern intensive care unit in Belém, with 26 exclusive beds;⁶ and an emergency service, which assists in urgent and emergency situations 24 hours a day in the specialties of general practice, pediatrics, orthopedics, psychological consultations, and a blood bank.⁷

Developments that Led to the Institution’s Establishment

In 1927, Pastor John L. Brown and his family were sent by East Brazil Union Conference (União Este Brasileira), now Southeast Brazil Union Conference, to the city of Belém, in the state of Pará, to establish the Lower Amazon Mission (Missão Baixo Amazonas, or MBA) now North Para Conference (Associação Norte do Pará, or ANPa). At that time, MBA served the current states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Ceará, Maranhão, Pará, Piauí, Rondônia, and Roraima. The canvassers Hans Mayr, with his wife, Johanna, and André Gedrath, were sent with Pastor Brown to work in Belém. At that time travel was only possible by boat, due to the characteristics of the region. Thus, the two canvassers built a launch that could take them to various places in order to preach the Adventist message.⁸

Pastor Brown made numerous mission trips through the states of Amazonas and Pará, distributing literature and preaching. In 1928, Brown was called to work in the South American Division headquarters. In order to continue the work of Pastor Brown, Pastor Léo B. Halliwell became his replacement.⁹ On an exploratory boat and canoe trip along in Amazon River, Halliwell was surprised by the precarious situation of people in that region. In order to help the riverside population, Halliwell made an appeal for another launch to continue the work that was being carried out. The Missionary Volunteer Society¹⁰ in the United States was willing to help financially so that this goal could be achieved. The Missionary Volunteers managed to raise US$5,400, enough for the launch construction.¹¹ This and other achievements developed the medical missionary work of the Church in northern Brazil.

However, there were still considerable challenges. In the 1940s there were only six Adventist medical workers in all of Brazil, and most of them did not have a specialty. In response, the Adventist leaders decided to expand the efforts of the medical missionary work along the Amazon River and its tributaries.¹² There was a great need to offer adequate treatment for serious cases that could not be solved with the basic medical work that the mission launches did with the riverside population. In addition, there was an opportunity to establish medical missionary service in the capital of the state of Pará. The Halliwells believed that medical work was the right arm of the Adventist message, and that conviction drove their efforts.¹³

Foundation of the Institution

The Halliwell’s plans were reinforced in 1941 when an evaluation was made for the establishment of hospitals in South America. Pastor J. F. Wright, of the General Conference, recommended that SAD make plans to strengthen medical work in the Amazon. As a first step, in 1942, the physician Antônio Miranda, who had been called from São Paulo to Belém, established Belem Clinic (Clínica Bom Samaritano), that was the origin of Belem Adventist Hospital.¹⁴ The clinic started in a rented building, on Travessa Padre Eutíquio and offered natural treatments such as hydrotherapy.¹⁵ The medical care in the institution was carried out by Dr. Antônio Miranda (founder) and Dr. Edgar Bentes Rodrigues.¹⁶

Pastor Halliwell’s plan was to build a larger medical facility. In 1942 the worldwide Sabbath School offerings were directed towards the proposed hospital, and US$51,000 was raised for construction.¹⁷ In 1944 the union bought land in the current Marco neighborhood, in Belém, on which to build the hospital. In 1949 construction began¹⁸ when a second Sabbath School offering of US$48,000 was dedicated to hospital construction.¹⁹ The projected building had two floors, with capacity for 45 beds, and had electricity produced by generators. The project also included a home for nurses and two homes for doctors.²⁰ The construction works lasted four years and, on April 10, 1953, the Belem Hospital (Hospital Belém, or HB) was inaugurated with 27 beds, a laboratory, pharmacy, and an x-ray room.²¹

History of the Institution

On June 2, 1958, HB signed a contract to provide services to the Bankers’ Retirement and Pensions Institute (Instituto de Aposentadoria e Pensões dos Bancários, or IAPB). This institute reserved five beds in the hospital for the care of its beneficiaries. They paid the daily rates for these beds, even if they were not used. That same year, the medical archive and the hospital library were organized. In addition, internal regulations were drafted and approved by the administrative board of the North Brazil Union Mission. Also, in 1958, the hospital purchased equipment, including an x-ray machine of 100,000 amps, three new laundry machines, and the proper equipment for the emergency room.²²

During 1958 the hospital kept track of the number of medical appointments and hospitalizations at its facilities. At the end of the year, the institution had held 2,915 appointments, which made an average of around 242 appointments per month. Among the medical visits made, 623 were free and, of these, 163 were in the patient’s home. HB doctors performed 157 operations and delivered 80 babies, in addition to performing several obstetric interventions. The daily average of patients cared for in the hospital was 12, 45 percent of the 27 beds were occupied.²³ The medical institution was in its early years, but the overall picture was good and a promising future was projected.

In the 1960s Belem Hospital made great advances. The number of beds reached 40, and the services of the emergency room and blood bank were installed. Zildomar Deucher instituted the Health Guarantee Plan, and this made it possible for doctors to perform the first cardiac surgery in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil.²⁴ During that time, scholarships were also awarded to medical students.²⁵

In 1961, Deucher was called to be the HB director and he realized the difficulty Adventist hospitals in Brazil had in getting doctors and other medical staff to work full time. He thought up a plan to encourage young Adventists to become medical missionaries, supported by the hospital. In 1969 there were 28 people involved in the student plan. The subsidy consisted of full pension, allowance, study and development assistance, and hospital practice. Beginning that year, the Belem Hospital became known as Belem Adventist Hospital (Hospital Adventista de Belém, or HAB), highlighting its identification as an Adventist institution.²⁶

In 1962, HAB completed ten years of existence and some changes took place. SAD donated an ambulance and the hospital inaugurated an emergency room. Also, a new portable x-ray device was purchased, allowing the patient to be x-rayed more quickly during surgery.²⁷ Until 1964, the hospital had four doctors, eight graduated nurses, and 16 auxiliary nurses working in its clinical staff. Meanwhile, its physical and staff structure continued to grow. On July 11, 1965, the cornerstone was laid for a new wing for the hospital, since the existing building was no longer adequate for the demand.²⁸ To contribute to the purchase of equipment for this new wing, the city government of Bonn, Germany, made a donation.²⁹ The new wing was inaugurated on March 23, 1970.³⁰ It contained 2,720 square meters of space, with 33 modern apartments, capacity for 66 beds, ten doctor’s offices, and large rooms for administration.³¹

With the increase in the hospital structure and in the services provided, in the first two decades the staff numbers also increased. In 1974 HAB had 203 employees altogether, 34 workers, 11 missionary doctors, two specialists, two graduate students, and eight nurses.³² There was a need for additional qualified personnel to join the hospital staff. Thus, in 1977, the Nursing Assistant School was established in partnership with the Grão Pará Adventist Institute (Instituto Adventista Grão-Pará, or IAGP). The hospital provided the teaching staff for the institute in order to train nursing professionals educated with the Adventist medical missionary philosophy. The course was taught for 19 years, concluding in 1996. During this period, services such as the emergency room, maternity, rehabilitation sectors, and the outpatient area were also expanded, and a computer system was implemented.³³

In the following years, HAB intensified its disease awareness and prevention education with Adventist and non-Adventist audiences. From June 3 to 6, 1982, the Fourth Concílio Missionário de Obreiros (Fourth Missionary Workers Council) was held in the city of Salinas. The theme of the meeting was Saúde, Santificação e Serviço (Health, Sanctification and Service).³⁴ On October 17, 1983, the spiritual department and the study center of the hospital promoted several health courses lasting two months each. These courses offered guidance on nutrition, smoking and alcohol cessation, and healthy living to the population of Belém. The event was attended by 55 people.³⁵

Beginning in May 1985, a new phase of structural expansion was initiated. Construction began on a new surgical center (with the capacity to perform several simultaneous surgeries), a sterilization center, and an adult and child intensive care center. The management chose to prioritize the purchase of modern equipment and to invest in human resources.³⁶ Two years later, the institution also began to invest in direct aid to the needy population throughout the state of Pará. Through the structural investments and social work, the missionary effort was well received. This combination of structural and evangelistic growth has become the institution’s trademark. As a result of the work carried out by the hospital, 66 people were baptized.³⁷

Expansion continued and, at the beginning of 1988, the hospital acquired a new digestive endoscopy device.³⁸ The operating room was completed the following year and was named after Pastor Léo B. Halliwell.³⁹ Already, the Belem Adventist Hospital was considered the best hospital in the city, and its evangelistic strength was also successful. Between 1979 and 1990, more than 500 people were baptized as a result of the hospital’s work, with 80 of these baptisms taking place in December 1990, testifying to the institution’s missionary outreach.⁴⁰

In 1992 there were 60 doctors, 20 nurses, and 600 employees at the HAB.⁴¹ Many of these workers, besides saving lives in the hospital, also participated in evangelistic projects carried out in the region. In the city of Salinópolis, for example, a church was inaugurated in 1996 as a result of the work started by the hospital in 1992, when there were no Adventists in that place.⁴² Another city reached by the missionary work of the hospital staff was Santo Antônio do Tauá. On March 23, 1997, doctors and other staff members ran a program there. This event marked the beginning of Adventism in that city. An average of 150 people attended the event every day. As a result, on May 11, 1997, 59 people were baptized in Santo Antônio do Tauá.⁴³ HAB held health seminars and lectures at the Marco church, in Belém, on June 20 and 21, 1997. This program was attended by more than 800 people, causing a great impact on area.⁴⁴

In the late 1990s, the institution began to perform transplants. On May 22, 1999, the hospital was the stage for the first kidney transplant performed in the state of Pará. On September 29, 1999, it performed the first heart transplant in the northern region of Brazil. It soon began to offer refractive laser surgery to correct myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.⁴⁵ Other important initiatives for the development of clinical services were started in the decade of 2010. Among them, the following stand out: the Programa de Integração Acadêmica (Academic Integration Program, or PIA), which supports medical students; the Home Support Service Serviço de Apoio Domiciliar), called Olga Streithorst Ambulatory (Ambulatório Olga Streithorst), which develops social programs in schools, churches, and poor neighborhoods in the metropolitan region of Belém and in the cities of Marituba and Ananindeua; and the Healthy Living Program (Programa Vida Saudável, or PVS), which offers preventive medicine.⁴⁶

In 2003 the Belem Adventist Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary. The hospital’s birthday celebrations were held on July 11 and 13 with the presence of 200 guests. On the first day, a wing was inaugurated with 29 new offices and a waiting room.⁴⁷ A significant gesture was made on that occasion. The hospital donated 105 hectares of property to build the new Adventist institution of higher education, which was to be established in the municipality of Benevides. The property had been purchased in the 1990s to house a healthy living center. However, after the donation, the Amazonia Adventist College (Faculdade Adventista da Amazônia, or FAAMA) was built there.⁴⁸ Even sharing its resources this way, the hospital continued to expand. Four years later, on June 5, 2007, the facade of the hospital was reinaugurated and the cornerstone of a new facility was laid. The building was designed to have eight floors. Besides increasing the number of beds in the hospital to 200, the 10,000 square meters of space would be used to accommodate new surgical centers and an intensive care center.⁴⁹

In addition to planning improvements and constructing new buildings for the hospital’s clinical development, the institution’s leaders also made evangelistic plans. The goal was to reach people from the middle and upper classes of Belém through the chaplaincy department of the hospital. The project Encontro Vida (Life Encounter) was created and it began in August 2010. The first fruits came when eight people were baptized on February 26, 2012. As a continuation of this project, the hospital initiated a program of habits re-education. Around 180 people attended the event, including a family who, after finishing the course, began to study the Bible through the Life Encounter program. A year later they decided to be baptized. By then, 33 people had been baptized as a result of this project.⁵⁰

The year 2013 saw considerable structural expansion. The institution’s new 700 square meter auditorium, with capacity for 300 people, was inaugurated. It includes a baptismal tank and some support rooms.⁵¹ That same year, the Belem Adventist Hospital had 1,030 employees and 184 beds, as well as new equipment and a qualified team.⁵² In April, the new diagnostics center was inaugurated, housing 13 sectors, divided into three centers: radiological methods and diagnostic imaging; video methods; and graphical methods.⁵³ In 2014, the institution occupied 12,000 square meters over an area of four blocks. The hospital gained a new nursing station, with an area of 950 square meters and a capacity of 22 beds, in a space named after Dr. Walter Streithorst Filho.⁵⁴ Also, the new cafeteria was opened with capacity for 160 people and including a rest area.⁵⁵

On November 16 and 17, 2014, the re-inauguration of the HAB emergency department took place and it was named after the nurse, Jessie Rowley Halliwell.⁵⁶ Also that year, HAB received level one certificate from the National Accreditation Organization (Organização Nacional de Acreditação, or ONA). At that time, only five percent of Brazilian hospitals had this certification.⁵⁷ During 2014, the hospital performed 9,000 emergency care visits per month and 50,000 exams per month in the clinical analysis laboratory.⁵⁸ In 2014 HAB and the Amazonia Adventist College (FAAMA) closed a partnership with Pará State University (Universidade Estadual do Pará, or UEPA), authorizing ten vacancies for indicated professionals to take the professional master’s degree in the area of medicine. The goal was to prepare the FAAMA professors to teach the medical course intended for that institution in partnership with HAB.⁵⁹

In early April 2017, HAB received a certificate of distinction in intensive care services. The hospital is the second institution in the country and the first in northern Brazil to achieve this certification granted by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine (Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira, AMIB) and by the Qualisa Management Institute (Instituto Qualisa de Gestão, or IQG).⁶⁰ On November 27, the oncology unit was inaugurated, with an area of 630 square meters, including reception, nursing wing, and infusion beds for critically ill patients. Besides that, the place allowed for the expansion of adult and child emergency care, with 19 observation beds, four resuscitation beds, nursing station, pharmacy, management rooms, and a cafeteria with capacity for 100 people.⁶¹

In commemoration of its 65 years of existence, on June 25, 2018, the Belem Adventist Hospital was honored by the Assembleia Legislativa do estado do Pará (Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará, Alepa) in a solemn ceremony. On that occasion, administrators, doctors, and patients spoke in the assembly gallery, recognizing the importance of the hospital and its services to the community of Belém and the state of Pará. During the ceremony, Alepa awarded the Ordem do Mérito Cabanagem (Order of Merit Cabanagem) medal to doctors, pastors, managers, and civil servants who provided relevant services to HAB.⁶²

Still in celebration of its 65th birthday, in August 2018, a new wing of the hospital was inaugurated. The space houses a neonatal ICU containing modern equipment and ten beds to better serve patients and companions.⁶³ The pediatric clinic has been renovated and has a playroom and balcony for access to the sun. The sterilized material center was renovated and the diagnostics center received a new reception room. The central square and parking lot have been revitalized and a new section for hospitalization was inaugurated. A new surgical center of around 1,000 square meters became operational, with 11 operating rooms allowing for operations from low to high complexity. This center has high quality technology, equipped with air with laminar flow, hemodynamics, special tables for highly complex surgeries, LED surgical lights, electrical security devices, computers and integrated operating systems, last generation monitors, a panel that allows monitoring the surgical procedure in the reception, and walls and doors that prevent radiation and favor occupational health.⁶⁴

Following the technological update process for better hospital efficiency, the digitalization of medical records was initiated, in compliance with the standards of the Sociedade Brasileira de Informática na Saúde (Brazilian Health Informatics Association). Thus, the HAB employees have access to a package of applications integrated with a central information management system. As a result, through the Vivace platform, the doctor can access the patient’s test results. Even the cleaning team now has software for activity checking; thus, the service is now done more quickly. There are plans for the partograph⁶⁵ file to be entered in this digital system, so that in severe cases decisions can be made more quickly. The record of newborns will also enter this system for better monitoring and protection of the baby.⁶⁶

While seeking to continuously improve its service structure, the HAB team of leaders and employees is also concerned with the health of those who have difficulties accessing healthcare institutions. With that in mind, as of January 12, 2019, the project Luzeiro nas Ilhas (Light Bearer in the Islands), was initiated with the goal of bringing medical, dental, and basic pharmacy services to the riverside communities in the state of Pará. The project started with the departure of the Luzeiro⁶⁷ XIX (Light Bearer XIX) launch along the rivers of Belém, on the 403th anniversary of the city. Starting in the Combu Island, the Luzeiro XIX served 100 people in the categories of general practice, pediatrics, dermatology, and basic pharmacy. This project has the goal of serving 30 islands in the coming years.⁶⁸ Thus, the hospital continues to restore lives, both in Belém and also in the most distant and needy places in the state.

In honor of the 66th hospital anniversary, in April 2019, the administration launched another missionary project, called Luzeiro Urbana (Urban Light Bearer). A company donated a trailer and the architectural project was done voluntarily by an architecture student. The UNB and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) also collaborated. The trailer, which is six meters long and 2.25 meters wide, contains a medical and dental office, two bathrooms, and a technical area. There is also an energy generator and water storage equipment. The Luzeiro Urbana (Urban Light Bearer) is a place to carry out medical and dental consultations, exams, medicine delivery, and other services. The goal is to serve poor and socially vulnerable families living in the metropolitan region of Belém. Besides that, the project offers lectures on family planning, oral health, and evangelistic messages. The first visits were made in the cities of Ananindeua and Belém, in the Marco, Icoaraci, and Benguí neighborhoods.⁶⁹

In 2019, the Belem Adventist Hospital was the first hospital in Brazil to receive the diamond level certification for distinction in intensive care services. The award was given by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine (Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira, or AMIB) and by the Qualisa Management Institute (a health services accreditation body). In addition, due to the good results achieved by HAB regarding treatment for sepsis, the Latin American Sepsis Institute (Instituto Latino-Americano de Sepse, or ILAS) has awarded it a Certificate of Distinction as recognition for the treatment with high performance and resolvability of the disease at the hospital.⁷⁰

Historical Role of the Institution

HAB is among 172 Adventist hospitals spread across the world and has had a major influence in the northern region of Brazil when it comes to promoting comprehensive health. In addition to its success in the clinical field, the institution has been highlighted for its missionary commitment. Since its establishment, the hospital has collaborated to create around 100 Adventist congregations in the city of Belém and in its metropolitan area,⁷¹ making a notable contribution to evangelization and church planting. From 1979 to 1988, the medical unit led 378 people to baptism. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the average number of baptisms linked to the institution was one person per day. Furthermore, since 2010, the hospital chaplaincy has led a congregation called Encontro Vida (Life Encounter), which, in the first four years, baptized 118 people.⁷²

The institution has also contributed in the social sphere. The Olga Streithorst Social Assistance Ambulatory is located in one of the most populous neighborhoods in Belém and works as an extension of HAB in order to assist the needy in the community. In order to carry out permanent social work, in 2003 the hospital created the Programa Criança Cidadã (Child Citizen Program).⁷³ Until 2013, approximately 2,000 pediatric and dental consultations were carried out per month under this project.⁷⁴ In addition, HAB has been actively engaged in projects promoted by the Adventist Church, among them Vida por Vidas (Live for lives)⁷⁵ and Quebrando o Silêncio (Breaking the Silence).⁷⁶ Thus, whether through its own initiatives or through partnerships, HAB has sought to realize its institutional vision of promoting the integral health of human beings.⁷⁷

Outlook

The Belem Adventist Hospital has been fulfilling the evangelistic and humanitarian objectives that characterize the Adventist medical work and that inspired its creators more than six decades ago. Currently, the medical unit seeks to achieve the HIMMS Analytics Level 7, in order to become a fully digital hospital, without the use of paper. Thus, the institution has already purchased 27 software programs that are used by customers and employees. Through this and many other efforts, HAB has remained a leading medical institution in northern Brazil. Its mission, however, remains the same as it was in the beginning. Its main purpose remains “to promote physical, mental, social, and spiritual health, following the example of the Lord Jesus, the Chief Physician.” In keeping with that purpose, it will continue to seek medical excellence offered in the medical missionary context. Thus, managers and employees continue to be guided by divine guidelines.⁷⁸

Official Names

Hospital Belém (Belem Hospital) (1953-1969); Hospital Adventista de Belém (Belem Adventist Hospital (1969-present).

List of Leaders⁷⁹

Administrative Directors: Leon Harder (1953-1956); Benito Kalbermatter (1956-1957); Claudomiro Fonseca (1960-1961); Wilson F. Ávila (1962); Nicanor Reichembach (1963-1967); Isaías Andrade (1967-1968); Jurandir R. de Oliveira (1971-1972); Wolfgang von Maack (1972-1973); Milton Gressler (1974-1978); Irineu Stabenow (1978-1995); Cleo O. Fortes (1995-1997); Sidney G. Matos (1997-2000); Alipio B. Rosa (2000-2008); Clairton Oliveira (2008-2010); Vander Alves (2010-2014); Jackson S. Freira (2014-present).

Medical Directors: Elmer Bottsford (1953-1955); Günther Ehlers (1955-1956); Oséas Florêncio (1956); Russell T. Smith (1956-1957); Jetro Carvalho (1958-1961); Fernando Guimarães (1961-1962); Zildomar Deucher (1962-1966); Clemenceau de Jesus Lopes (1966-1967); Zildomar Deucher (1967-1972); Daniel J. dos Reis (1972-1973); Renê Gross (1974-1976); Alaor Jose Toledo (1977-1984); Merari Reinert (1985-2002); Walter Streithorst Filho (2002-2012); Markus Barcellos de Albuquerque (2012-present).⁸⁰

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“Terra conquistada” [Conquered land]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 93, July 1997.

“UTI Neonatal” [Neonatal ICU]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1338, year 113, October 2018.

Vianna, Vanderlei José. “Igreja implantará faculdade no norte do Brasil” [Church will implement college in the north Brazil]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 98 (July 2003).

Vida por Vidas [Life for Lives]. http://www.vidaporvidas.com/pt/.

Notes

1. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Mais que uma equipe” [More than a team], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/3khR07D.↩

2. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Institutional” [Institutional], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/3i9F1qQ.↩

3. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Centro de Reabilitação” [Rehabilitation Center], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/2PAS5t3.↩

4. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Laboratório de análises clínicas” [Clinical analysis laboratory], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/2PuKmwO.↩

5. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Diagnóstico por imagem” [Diagnostic imaging], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/2PrrChN.↩

6. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Terapia intensiva” [Intensive therapy], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/3adaje1.↩

7. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Pronto Atendimento” [Emergency Room], accessed on August 6, 2020, https://bit.ly/3fBpvm5; Diogo Cavalcanti, “Crescimento Vertical: Hospital Adventista de Belém terá novo prédio” [Vertical Growth: Belém Adventist Hospital will have a new building], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1190, year 102 (July 2007): 26-27; R.S. Lessa, “Educação e saúde: DSA discute identidade e crescimento da rede escolar e hospitalar da igreja” [Education and health: SAD discusses identity and growth of the church’s school and hospital network], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1217, year 104 (October 2009): 38-39.↩

8. Italo Giordano Filho, “A obra médico missionária na Região Norte” [The medical missionary work in the North Region] (Monograph, Instituto Adventista de Ensino [Brazil College], n.d.), 8-9.↩

9. Ibid., 15-16.↩

10. The youth department was organized by the General Conference Council in 1907. “In the summer of the same year, about 200 workers gathered [...] for a youth convention to choose a name for the department.” So the chosen name was “Seventh-day Adventist Young People’s Missionary Volunteer Department” or simply M.V. (Seventh-day Adventist Church [Brazil] Website, “História” [History], accessed on February 4, 2020, https://bit.ly/2K1fnW5).↩

11. Rubens Lessa, Construtores de Esperança: Na Trilha dos Pioneiros Adventistas da Amazônia [Builders of Hope: on the trail of Adventist pioneers in the Amazon] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2016), 60.↩

12. Italo Giordano Filho, “A obra médico missionária na Região Norte” [The medical missionary work in the North Region] (Monograph, Instituto Adventista de Ensino [Brazil College], n.d.) 5-6, 8.↩

13. Rubem M. Scheffel, “HAB completa 50 anos” [HAB turns 50], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 8, year 98 (August 2003): 27.↩

14. HAB Communication Team, “Salvar é a nossa natureza” [Saving is our nature], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (April-June 2014): 32.↩

15. Floyd Greenleaf, Terra de esperança: o crescimento da Igreja Adventista na América do Sul [Land of Hope: The Growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2011), 460.↩

16. Rubem M. Scheffel, “HAB completa 50 anos” [HAB turns 50], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 8, year 98 (August 2003): 27; Rubens Lessa, Construtores de Esperança: na trilha dos Pioneiros Adventistas da Amazônia [Builders of Hope: on the trail of Adventist pioneers in the Amazon] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2016), 125-126.↩

17. Italo Giordano Filho, “A obra médico missionária na Região Norte” [The medical missionary work in the North Region] (Monograph, IAE, n.d.), 28-29.↩

18. Diana Costa, e-mail message to the authors, March 17, 2016.↩

19. Floyd Greenleaf, Terra de esperança: o crescimento da Igreja Adventista na América do Sul [Land of Hope: The Growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2011), 460.↩

20. Italo Giordano Filho, “A obra médico missionária na Região Norte” [The medical missionary work in the North Region] (Monograph, IAE, n.d.), 29.↩

21. Floyd Greenleaf, Terra de esperança: o crescimento da Igreja Adventista na América do Sul [Land of Hope: The Growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2011), 461.↩

22. Jetro F. Carvalho, “Hospital Belém – Marco da Obra Médico-Missionária” [Belem Hospital - Milestone of the Medical Missionary Work], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 12, year 53 (December 1958): 27.↩

23. Jetro F. Carvalho, “Hospital Belém” [Belem Hospital], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 5, year 54 (May 1959): 29.↩

24. Diogo Cavalcanti, “Crescimento Vertical: “Hospital Adventista de Belém terá novo prédio” [Vertical Growth: Belém Adventist Hospital will have a new building], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1190, year 102 (July 2007): 27.↩

25. Diana Costa, e-mail message to the authors, March 17, 2016.↩

26. Elias Oliveira Lima, “Hospital Adventista de Belém” [Belem Adventist Hospital], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 9, year 64 (September 1969): 24-25.↩

27. Zildomar Deucher, “Hospital Belém” [Belem Hospital], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 3, year 59 (March 1964): 17.↩

28. Walter J. Streithorst, “A Obra Médica na União Norte Brasileira” [Medical Work in the North Brazil Union Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 3, year 61 (March 1966): 18.↩

29. M.S. Nigri, “Isto é a Divisão Sul-Americana” [This is the South American Division], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 5, year 62 (May 1967): 8.↩

30. Diana Costa, e-mail message to the authors, March 17, 2016.↩

31. Isaías Andrade, “Uninorte Notícias” [North Union Mission News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 65 (July 1970): 31.↩

32. Daniel José dos Reis, “Vinte anos a serviço de Deus e da Amazônia” [Twenty years in the service of God and the Amazon], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 3, year 69 (March 1974): 22.↩

33. Alberto Ribeiro de Sousa, “A União Norte-Brasileira em 1977” [The North Brazil Union Mission in 1977], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1, year 73 (January 1978): 20; Diana Costa, e-mail message to the authors, March 17, 2016.↩

34. “Efervescência Espiritual no HAB” [Spiritual Effervescence in the HAB], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 8, year 77, August 1982, 29.↩

35. “Em defesa do Bem-estar” [In defense of well-being], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 2, year 78, February 1983, 20.↩

36. D. F. Neufeld, Seventh-Day Adventist Encyclopedia, 2. ed. (Hagerstown, United States: Review and Herald, 1996), 858.↩

37. “Hospital Adventista de Belém” [Belem Adventist Hospital], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 2, year 84, February 1988, 22.↩

38. Ibid.↩

39. “Novo Centro Cirúrgico” [New Surgical Center], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 85, July 1989, 18.↩

40. “Obra médica cumpre a sua missão em Belém” [Medical work fulfills its mission in Belém], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 2, year 87, February 1991, 17.↩

41. Arthur Modro Júnior, “Hospital Belém: a missão em primeiro lugar” [Belem Hospital: the mission in the first place], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 5, year 88 (May 1992): 11.↩

42. “Associação paraense marcha com dinamismo” [Para Conference marches with dynamism], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 92, July 1996, 27.↩

43. “Terra conquistada” [Conquered land], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 93, July 1997, 19.↩

44. “Cura física e espiritual” [Physical and spiritual healing], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 8, year 93, August 1997, 24.↩

45. Diana Costa, e-mail message to the authors, March 17, 2016.↩

46. HAB Communication Team, “Salvar é a nossa natureza” [Saving is our nature], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (April-June 2014): 32-33; “60 anos Hospital Adventista de Belém (1953-2013)” [Belem Adventist Hospital 60 years (1953-2013)], Revista Garantia de Saúde [Health Guarantee Review], no. 37, 2013, Special Edition.↩

47. Rubem M. Scheffel, “HAB completa 50 anos” [HAB turns 50], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 8, year 98 (August 2003): 27.↩

48. Vanderlei José Vianna, “Igreja Implantará faculdade no norte do Brasil” [Church will implement college in the north Brazil], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 98 (July 2003): 28; “Educação superior adventista no Norte do Brasil” [Adventist higher education in the North of Brazil], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 7, year 98, July 2003, 21.↩

49. Diogo Cavalcanti, “Crescimento Vertical: “Hospital Adventista de Belém terá novo prédio” [Vertical Growth: Belém Adventist Hospital will have a new building], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1190, year 102 (July 2007): 26.↩

50. From the editorial office, “Curar o corpo e a alma” [Heal the body and the soul], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1247, year 107 (April 2012): 28.↩

51. HAB Communication Team, “Salvar é a nossa natureza” [Saving is our nature], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (April-June 2014): 32; Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019.↩

52. Franciele Mota, “Saúde para todos” [Health for all], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1265, year 108 (October 2013): 28.↩

53. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019.↩

54. “Certificado de qualidade” [Certificate of quality], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1306, year 111, February 2016, 10.↩

55. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019; Alínic Teles, “HAB inaugura posto de enfermagem” [HAB inaugurates a nursing post], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (October to December 2014): 33-35.↩

56. Lene Salles, “Quinquenal” [Quinquennial], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (October to December 2014): 36-38.↩

57. “Certificado de qualidade” [Certificate of quality], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1306, year 111, February 2016, 10.↩

58. Alínic Teles and Eliara Clemente, “Referência em saúde” [Reference in health], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (October to December 2015): 33-34.↩

59. “Medicina em saúde” [Medicine in health], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1278, year 109, November 2014, 41.↩

60. “Selo de qualidade” [Seal of quality], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1321, year 112, May 2017, 11.↩

61. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019.↩

62. Mara Barcellos, “Alepa celebra os 65 anos do Hospital Adventista de Belém” [Alepa celebrates Belem Adventist Hospital 65th anniversary], Rede Pará [Para Network], June 26, 2018, accessed on May 7, 2020, https://bit.ly/2WdHCbb.↩

63. “UTI Neonatal” [Neonatal ICU], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1338, year 113, October 2018, 8.↩

64. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019.↩

65. “The partogram is an official document that must be filled from the moment a pregnant woman enters into labor. The partogram is part of the patient’s records.” SANARMED, “Partograma: o que é e como preenchê-lo” [Partogram: what it is and how to fill it up], accessed on May 7, 2020, https://bit.ly/3bf9DUf.↩

66. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019.↩

67. “The first Light bearer Missionary Launch was inaugurated in July 1931 by the couple Leo and Jessie Halliwell, with the objective of taking health education and free medical and dental assistance to the poor coastal populations of Amazonas. [...] During these 80 years, thousands of people have directly benefited from the support provided by the launches. In many cases, this was the only way for these people to receive any medical and dental care.” Luzeiro [Light Bearer], “História” [History], accessed on January 22, 2020, https://www.luzeiro.org/.↩

68. Alínic Teles and Dominik Giusti, e-mail message to the authors, June 24, 2019.↩

69. Alínic Teles and Ana Tália Coelho, e-mail message to the authors, June 24, 2019.↩

70. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 24, 2019.↩

71. Ibid.↩

72. HAB Communication Team, “Tratamento completo” [Complete treatment], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (April-June 2014): 33; HAB Communication Team, “A toda língua, povo e nação” [To every tongue, people and nation], Mais Destaque Norte [More Emphasis in the North] (July-September 2014): 34.↩

73. The Olga Streithorst ambulatory, which later came to comprise the “Programa Criança Cidadã” [Child Citizen Program], has been serving people up to 12 years old in the neighborhoods of Terra Firme and Canudos, in the city of Belém. On average, 20,000 children started to receive pediatric clinical treatment with follow-up every three months, dental care and guidance on basic oral health care. The program also conducts educational seminars for parents and families, routine laboratory tests, specific tests and medicine donation. This program has two branches. (1) The “Projeto Água e Sabão, Doença Não” [Water and Soap, No Disease Project], which serves needy families in the suburbs and outskirts of Belém. On average, four thousand people are assisted per month and receive educational information, medications, attend lectures on oral health and family health, and receive medical assistance. (2) And the “Projeto Saúde Começa pela Boca” [Health Begins at the Mouth Project], which is directed to students of public school with the purpose of promoting oral health and providing basic dental treatment in a mobile office. Around two thousand students are served per week and attend educational seminars (Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 27, 2019).↩

74. Franciele Mota, “Saúde para todos” [Health for all], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], no. 1265, year 108 (October 2013): 28.↩

75. “Voluntary initiative promoted by Adventist Youth. In 2005 the Project came up with the proposal to contribute to blood centers by encouraging blood donation during the Easter period.” Vida por Vidas [Lives for Lives], “O Projeto” [The Project], accessed on February 4, 2020, https://bit.ly/35ZtlV5.↩

76. Breaking the Silence is an educational and prevention project against abuse and domestic violence promoted annually by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in eight countries of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) since 2002.” Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, “Quebrando o Silêncio” [Breaking the Silence], accessed on February 4, 2020, https://bit.ly/2WoDfIW.↩

77. Hospital Adventista de Belém [Belem Adventist Hospital], “Nosso Ideais” [Our Ideals] accessed on September 22, 2020, https://bit.ly/3i9F1qQ.↩

78. Ibid.↩

79. Alínic Teles, e-mail message to the authors, June 24, 2019; “Belem Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1951), 289; “Belem Adventist Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2019), 608. For a more detailed check of all administrative leaders of the Belem Adventist Hospital, see the Yearbooks from 1951 to 2020.↩

80. More information about HAB can be found on the website www.hab.org.br or on social networks - Facebook: @hospitalbelem, Instagram: @hospitalbelem.↩