New $85M Pan-Am Clinic to be built adjacent to Reh-Fit Centre

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A clinic that specializes in healing bones and joints is partnering with a renowned health and fitness facility to create a one-stop health and wellness shop.

A new Pan-Am Clinic will be built adjacent to the Reh-Fit Centre on Taylor Avenue at Waverley Street at a cost of $85 million, the two organizations and Premier Greg Selinger announced Wednesday.

Reh-Fit, a not-for-profit medical fitness facility, will build the new clinic, while the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which operates the once privately owned Pan-Am Clinic, will lease the space.

Reh-Fit will be responsible for the estimated $45-million building construction cost, while the province will shell out $40 million to outfit it — including new surgical and MRI suites.

Dr. Wayne Hildahl, Pan-Am’s CEO, said his existing clinic is 30 years old and space is cramped.

“Our problem at Pan-Am is that we’ve outgrown our space. It is not feasible to expand our present facility,” he told a news conference.

Hildahl said the 85,000-square-foot building envisioned just east of the Reh-Fit Centre would provide an additional 20,000 square feet to work with.

One of the biggest limitations of the current space is that Pan Am’s minor injury clinic is getting squeezed.

Milton Sussman, president and CEO of the WRHA, said the demands for that facility have increased dramatically.

“We did 45,000 visits last year, and there are still times when people can’t get in,” he said.

Sussman said he expects the new Pan-Am Clinic may be built and equipped within three to four years.

The project’s proponents said the two health organizations are a perfect fit, providing complementary services. Both also have a focus on health research. The close proximity of the two entities will allow for even better collaboration, they said.

“Whether you’re a young person suffering from a sport injury, a middle-aged person hoping to thwart… illness or injury, or an older person recuperating from a serious illness, your health can only be enhanced by this initiative,” said Sue Boreskie, Reh-Fit’s CEO.

She said her organization has yet to embark on a fundraising campaign.

Selinger said the new partnership is a good deal for taxpayers, noting half the project’s overall cost is being funded by the community.

He said demand for services from both groups will only increase as the population ages.

“The combination offers huge possibilities to keep people healthy and living in their communities in a more active way and keeps pressure off the hospitals and the ERs,” the premier said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca