A huge step forward for a new acute care hospital in Windsor-Essex.

A million dollars was raised at the 'Starry Night' Gala at Caesars Windsor, held Saturday November 26th.

The new, state-of-the-art hospital comes will cost an estimated $2 billion.

Windsor Regional Hospital CEO, David Musyj, says this is the first fundraising event for the proeject and tells CTV Windsor it sends a clear message to the province.

"You know what we have here tonight is a resounding noise to say our community is behind this project. Any day now we're hoping to hear about it. It's up to the government now. We've done everything we were supposed to do."

Michelle Prince and her husband, former Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, co-chaired the event.

Prince has been battling stage four colon cancer for the past three years and tells CTV Windsor she's honoured to be part of the event.

"I think what inspired me is my personal journey with cancer and all of the healthcare that I received from our excellent hospitals here, knowing that we have the best doctors and nurses, but we can still do better and we still deserve better. I knew that this was the right place for us to be."

The city and county have committed $200-million for the project.

The proposed location for the new hospital is at County Road 42 and the 9th Concession.