Overview of the Centre

The Reh-Fit Centre originated in an outreach initiative launched by St. Boniface General Hospital in 1975. A group of individuals who had suffered heart attacks exercised three times a week in the basement of the School of Physical Education at the University of Manitoba. They completed their cardiac rehabilitation under the supervision of medical and physical education staff.

The group became the founding members of the Reh-Fit when it opened in 1979, as one of Canada's leading community fitness and cardiac rehabilitation centres. The current Pan-Am Sport Medicine Clinic also got its start in the Reh-Fit facility (1979 - 1985).

In 1997, the Reh-Fit took responsibility for delivering St. Boniface General Hospital's post bypass cardiac rehabilitation program. With the inception of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) in 1999, a one-program, two-site model was set up in Manitoba, at the Reh-Fit Centre and the Wellness Institute.

Saving Thousands of Lives

Through four months of exercise and education, our cardiac rehabilitation program prevents, stabilizes, and in some cases reduces or eliminates risk factors for heart disease, for those who are recovering from a heart attack or are at high risk.

The Centre now offers one of the foremost cardiac rehabilitation programs in Canada, where heart disease is the leading cause of death. The program, taught by specialists in cardiac rehabilitation, has been saving and enhancing the lives of thousands of Manitobans for nearly 30 years.

Medical Fitness Facility

The Reh-Fit operates as a medically based fitness centre, for optimum delivery of its cardiac rehabilitation and community health and fitness programs. In contrast to commercial fitness centres, it offers expert guidance and education on exercise, nutrition, and other aspects of healthy living from qualified and credentialed staff, including doctors, nurses, laboratory staff, dietitians, and physical educators.

The Community We Serve

The Reh-Fit Centre currently has nearly 4,000 members, with more than 500 new cardiac rehabilitation participants each year and hundreds of community users and others who take advantage of our educational seminars and programs. The Centre serves people from all over Winnipeg as well as rural areas of Manitoba, with broad coverage of age groups, from 12-year-olds to those in their nineties.

$12 Million Expansion and Renovation

In 2005-2006, the Reh-Fit Centre underwent a $12-million expansion and renovation, led with a major gift from local businessman, Paul Albrechtsen. The expansion and renovation left only one floor and the rear wall of the field house unchanged. It added 36,000 square feet to the footprint of the Centre, bringing the total to 86,000 square feet.

The Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Program supported the expansion and renovation with a contribution of $2.6 million, equally shared by the federal and provincial governments. The City of Winnipeg also extended the term of the Centre's land lease to December 31, 2102.

Many other donors supported the $12-million expansion and renovation by contributing to "Building Community Wellness," the Reh-Fit's successful Capital Campaign which raised more than $1.7 million.

The Best Health and Fitness Centre in Canada

The Reh-Fit strives to make membership accessible to all, with rates and fees comparable to those of other health and fitness centres in the marketplace. Those rates and fees, supplemented by donations and other philanthropic support, will ensure that the Reh-Fit continues to save lives and improve quality of life in keeping with our vision of being the best health and fitness centre in Canada.