NORTH BAY -- Despite rumours of funding cuts, the North Bay Regional Health Centre is doing world-class work.

A study by the American College of Surgeons surveyed over 700 hospitals around the world and found the North Bay Regional Health Centre to be in the top 100 for the quality of its surgery.

"It speaks to the culture of quality here in North Bay. Our staff are very driven by quality and we want to promote patient safety," said Dr. Amber Menezes, General Surgeon.

As a participant in the American College of Surgeons program, the hospital is required to track the outcomes of surgical procedures and collect data on patient safety.

"People feel comfortable having surgery in the community and how they want to have surgery in the community locally… they don't have to travel," she continued.

The hospital started up its Surgical Site Infection Reduction project where 11 hospital departments were combined, making it one of the first in Canada to create a package for all types of surgical care.

"Which included all of our department of surgery, all of our staff from the pre-admission clinic, the operating room and in-patient surgery and phase two of the project rolled out into emergency medicine," said Kristen Vaughen, North Bay Regional Health Centre.

The hospital has been a part of this evaluation program since 2015, but this is the first time it has made the top 100 list.

Administrators say they will now shift their focus to a provincial strategy where they look at ways to reduce opioid use after surgery.