At the inauguration ceremony on 8 March, the chairman of the board of directors of the Hospital Internacional dos Açores, Luís Farinha, said that the new unit in Lagoa features more than 40 specialties, some of which do not exist in the Azores, and intends to offer its customers “excellent health care”, with 96 beds and five operating theatres.

At the moment, there are only three hospitals in the Azores, all assigned to the Regional Health Service, one of which is in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, another in Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira, and the other on Horta, on the island of Faial.

Luís Farinha said that, due to the specialties the hospital has, some of which do not exist in the Azores, it will be possible to avoid travel to the continent by users of the Regional Health Service and to combat waiting lists in the public system.
This is the case, among other specialties, are cardiac surgery, ophthalmology (vitrectomy), urology and cosmetic surgery.

The person in charge of the administration of the Hospital Internacional dos Açores stated that it will be possible to promote an “elimination of distances, through teleconsultation, with other islands”, also using collaborations with external agents connected to the health service, having already signed agreements with several insurers and ADSE.

The Mayor of Lagoa, Cristina Calisto, considered that this is a "historic day" for the city, since it is the largest private investment made in the municipality and that, along with other ongoing investments, will generate more economic gains.

The private hospital unit will create 300 jobs and will be equipped with a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance device, a 128-slice TAC, five operating theatre rooms, one hybrid, which allows cardiac, endovascular and surgical procedures to be combined in the same space, as well as a maternity hospital, intensive medicine and permanent care.

The Azores International Hospital was opened three years after the laying of the first stone, in a ceremony that was also attended by the president of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro.

That hospital unit is not yet fully operational and the administration envisages the phased opening of services until it is fully operational.