Huntsville District Memorial Hospital has opened the doors to its new MRI suite—a state-of-the-art facility poised to significantly improve diagnostic services across the region.
The milestone marks the culmination of a five-year journey, spearheaded by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) and the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, which raised $10 million to purchase the machine and build the hospital addition. The result: a powerful diagnostic tool that will deliver approximately 5,000 scans annually—bringing faster diagnoses, shorter wait times, and more convenient access to care.
“I'm so happy that Muskoka is among the first of the 49 new MRI machines the Ontario government is adding across the province,” said Cheryl Harrison, President and CEO of MAHC. “No more long drives out of the region. No more delays in diagnosis. This MRI is changing the game.”
Hours before the official ribbon-cutting, Huntsville resident Ben Osorio became the first person scanned in the new suite. Calling himself "lucky," his experience highlights just how immediate and impactful the new service will be for local patients.
The addition is expected to save patients over 7,000 hours of travel time each year and reduce more than 700,000 kilometres of driving to out-of-region hospitals. Already, patients who had requisitions filed elsewhere are being contacted to receive scans locally.
MPP Graydon Smith praised the initiative, calling it a “testament to our government’s commitment to strengthening rural healthcare,” and thanked community donors and partners who helped make the project a reality. Their generosity was echoed by Huntsville Hospital Foundation CEO Katherine Craine, who noted that 2,460 donations were received over three years.
“We are forever grateful for the investment you’ve made in healthcare, here,” said Craine. “We’re really fortunate to live in a region that is so incredibly supportive of healthcare and our hospital.”
