Bruce Grey Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch has urged the new Ontario Health Minister to support the new hospital in Markdale.
Murdoch read a statement in the Ontario legislature this week, asking Deb Matthews to get behind the project.
But there has been a change in the plans for the the proposed new Centre Grey Hospital.
Grey Bruce Health Services President and CEO Maureen Solecki says the new concept they are looking at now involves establishing a rural health care centre that would incorporate traditional hospital services, along with a medical clinic and community health centre under one roof.
She says because of the success of the Community Care Access Centres in developing comprehensive home care programs, there is less demand on and for acute care patient services in the hospital.
Solecki says the hospital would still have an emergency department, labs and some of the other diagnostic and support services associated with an acute care facility.
She says there is support for this centralized rural health care center from the South West LHIN and what they have to do now is convince the Province this is the way to go with health care in Markdale in the near future.
Solecki says they are excited about sitting down with provincial officials and looking at how the original design of the new hospital can be changed to accommodate this new rural health care centre.
She says the initial design for the new hospital is pretty flexible, so changing the plans should be fairly simple.
So far about one million dollars has been spent on planning for the new facility and the project received a 3 million dollar grant from the province for design work on the hospital.
The community has raised 13 million dollars towards the new hospital.