The Local Health Unit of the Northeastern EPE (LHUNE, EPE ), a public company of the State sector, was created from the publication of Decree-Law No. 67 of 2nd June 2011, integrating the Hospital Centre of the Northeastern, EPE (Bragança Hospital Unit, Macedo de Cavaleiros Hospital Unit and Mirandela Hospital Unit) and the Cluster of Health Centres of the Northeastern, where all the health centres of the Bragança district were integrated and the Health Centre of Vila Nova de Foz Côa was integrated in 2014 in the Local Health Unit of Guarda, EPE. Covering a territorial area of about 6600 km2, the LHUNE is composed of 3 Hospital Units and 14 Health Centres, one for each county seat, except in Mirandela and Bragança where there are 2 health centres respectively.
Assuming its social responsibility to contribute in a sustainable and humanistic way to the provision of quality health care, LHUNE has invested in a strong training and research empowerment in the health area, guided by the innovation and development dynamics. Cooperation with higher education institutions has been a key lever for the development of synergies, through partnerships that translate into research projects, such as those listed below: "GreenHealth: Digital and biological asset-based strategies to improve well-being and promote green health" (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042), "BioFirEx (PCIF/SSO/0017/2018): A biomarker panel for firefighter health and safety surveillance", "PandIA - Management of confinement situations based on municipal and social information", from the AI 4 COVID-19 Project: Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration to strengthen the fight against COVID 19 and future pandemics - 2020 (DSAIPA/AI/0088/2020), "Respiratory rehabilitation programme in outpatients with COPD", "SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in Northeast Portugal: developing knowledge and tools for better disease management (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-072562)", Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects (IC&DT: Test with Science and Solidarity Programme).