Residents in Abbotsford, B.C. saw a glimpse into the Fraser Valley's new state-of-the-art hospital on Saturday at the facility's first open house.
The Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre boasts 300 acute and palliative care beds and nine operating rooms, which include cameras to broadcast surgeries live across the world, and cost $355 million to build.
"We have hired physicians from the U.S., we have hired from eastern Ontario, Alberta, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan," said Dr. Dave Williams, who is leading the new team of doctors and nurses at the hospital.
"This is an exciting day, not just for me but the residents of Abbotsford. They have looked forward to this day for about 20 years now."
The facility, which will open to patients in August, also includes a bright new B.C. cancer agency treatment centre designed to make chemotherapy and radiation more comfortable for patients.
"They get the best of a provincial program, of cancer control, but they get it in their backyard, so they don't have to travel," said Mary Flaherty, interim regional director of B.C. Cancer Agency Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centres.
MRI or dialysis patients will no longer need to be treated at Surrey Memorial or Royal Columbian hospitals, which are both typically very crowded.
Residents in the area are pleased the new resource will be available to them.
"It's absolutely fantastic," said one woman who toured the hospital. "We waited a long time but it was worth waiting for."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
