The first half of the twentieth century witnessed the creation of Canada's modern hospital system. While it is often assumed that this process was inevitable, many small communities had difficulty creating and maintaining public hospitals. In an era of government cutbacks in health services and comparisons with a more privatized American system, W.G. Godfrey offers a timely examination of Canada's hospital experience, showing that it was a slow journey from largely privately funded to increasingly governmentally funded institutions.

Godfrey focuses on one hospital and the communities it served but also provides an overview of local, provincial, and federal hospital policies, revising the sometimes rose-tinted picture of public and private acceptance and generosity. He explores the relationship between the hospital's urban and rural constituencies and its French- and English-speaking patients, demonstrating that increasing patient numbers and changing funding sources encouraged substantial growth in hospital services from 1895 to 1953. He details how one community's understanding of the role of the hospital changed over time to match that of hospital advocates, board members, and support groups such as the Ladies' Aid, demonstrating that hospital history is as much a study of politics and community persuasion as it is of internal therapeutic advances.