Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was on hand to open Almonte's newly expanded General Hospital Friday.
He says the small town just west Ottawa is now equipped to bring even more advanced healthcare to its residents.
"Ideally people will feel like they don't have to travel into Ottawa to get a certain quality of care," said McGuinty.
The $29 million in improvements have gone into the hospital's emergency room recovery unit, labs, clinics and birthing unit. The biggest addition is the 112 new long-term care beds attached to the hospital, allowing patients to easily move from one level of care to another.
Ray Timmons, executive director for the Almonte General Hospital said the expansion will help put the hospital on the map and hopefully attract new talent.
"We're negotiating currently with several younger physicians and the hospital gives us a focus and a presence to market our community," said Timmons.
The Almonte General Hospital already ranks number one in patient satisfaction for ER responsiveness. Residents appreciate their hospital so much that one-third of the money raised for the expansion was raised by local residents and municipalities.
"We're just enough outside the city that this is where people want to be and they're willing to make sacrifices and put some money aside for this hospital," said Al Lunney mayor of Mississippi Mills.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem
