History
Officially opening in 1937, St. John’s Rehab Hospital’s origins date back to the 1884 founding of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, Canada's only indigenous Anglican women's religious order. During the Riel Rebellion in Saskatchewan in 1885, the Sisters were called upon to manage a hospital being organized in Moose Jaw to care for those wounded in battle.
In 1933, the Sisterhood – who were historically active in health care – responded to the community’s need and directed their efforts to a new area: convalescent care. They organized a Board of Trustees under the direction of The Honourable Vincent Massey to finance and plan the construction of St. John’s Rehab Hospital (then a convalescent hospital). On May 22, 1937, the hospital opened its doors as the first Toronto-area facility to offer rehabilitative care.
By 1941, the need for recovery care had grown exponentially, to the point where St. John’s began contemplating expanding beyond its 64 beds. In 1948, the hospital was already a regional provider, caring for 716 patients annually from present-day Toronto, York Region and throughout Ontario.
Following the Second World War in the 1940s, St. John’s Rehab offered respite care for recovering Canadian soldiers. This tradition continues today, as the hospital cares for soldiers wounded in the current mission in Afghanistan.
Today, St. John’s Rehab has 160 beds and cares for about 2,500 inpatients annually, as well as a comprehensive outpatient program that sees more than 50,000 visits per year.
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