The San Jorge Hospital becomes a university hospital

From today, the San Jorge Hospital is the San Jorge University Hospital. This will be the first university hospital outside the Aragonese capital and can be used for university research and teaching. This has been agreed by the University of Zaragoza and the Ministry of Health of the Government of Aragon, and this morning the agreement was signed by the acting rector of the University of Zaragoza, José Antonio Mayoral, the Minister of Health, Sira Repollés, and the Minister of Science, University and Knowledge Society, Maru Díaz. The document also includes the figure of a contracted doctor professor with clinical links within the Aragonese Health Service.

The granting of the status of university hospital to the San Jorge de Huesca hospital is a technical decision that has gone through the different and obligatory phases. The process began when the managing director of the San Jorge hospital, José Ignacio Castaño, presented the petition. From that moment on, a working commission was formed made up of members of the University of Zaragoza and the Ministry of Health of the Government of Aragon to verify and review compliance with the necessary requirements to be granted the qualification of university hospital, which are , among others, the existence of management bodies, care capacity, care protocols and physical spaces.

The working group issued a proposal to the monitoring commission of the agreement between the University of Zaragoza and the Ministry of Health to send to the competent bodies of each of the two institutions so that they will incorporate the San Jorge Hospital within the group of University Centers . At the University of Zaragoza, the Board of Directors approved it and the Governing Council and the Social Council on June 25 also gave their consent. And today the agreement was signed by which the San Jorge Hospital in Huesca becomes a university hospital.

The acting rector of the University of Zaragoza, José Antonio Mayoral, has pointed out that "it is a qualitative leap for the hospital" and added that "incorporating teaching, healthcare or research resources, as is now happening with the San Jorge hospital, is a benefit for the University of Zaragoza and, of course, for Aragonese society". In addition, Mayoral has stressed the importance of incorporating the figure of contracted doctor professor with clinical links "because it will allow us to expand human capital."

The Minister of Health, Sira Repollés, highlighted the "good news" of incorporating another hospital into the network of university hospitals and stated that "it represents confirmation of the extraordinary work that has been carried out at the center."

For her part, the Minister of Science, University and Knowledge Society, Maru Díaz, has celebrated that the San Jorge hospital becomes the first university hospital outside of Zaragoza capital, in her Department's commitment to continue decentralizing research, reinforce the peripheral campuses and thus make the University a truly structuring element of the territory. Díaz has highlighted that, from now on, students from the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences will also be able to carry out their internships there, completing their academic career without leaving the Alto Aragonese capital.

This health center in Huesca is incorporated into the network of university hospitals and therefore the university Health centers that can receive students from the University of Zaragoza in the field of Health Sciences will be the Miguel Servet and Lozano Blesa University Hospitals, in Zaragoza, and San Jorge in Huesca, with the Sacred Heart Hospital and the Santo Cristo de los Milagros Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center as associated centers.

Huesca hospitals already host the internships of the 212 annual students of the University School of Nursing of Huesca, as well as some medical students (between five and six a year) who carry out their internships there in the final section of their degree.

In addition, hospital professionals will have the opportunity to pursue a teaching-care career. Thus, in order to guarantee the teaching and research objectives of the University of Zaragoza, linked positions of Professor, Full University Professor and Contracted Doctoral Professor will be agreed between both institutions. The healthcare positions of the university and associated centers that are linked to teaching positions of the University teaching bodies will also be indicated.