Full Circle at RHC

Linda was a nursing student when Riverview Health Centre was the Winnipeg Municipal Hospital in the ‘60s. This was when the facility was the top place for treatment for diseases like polio. There were three buildings – King Edward, King George, and Princess Elizabeth – the only building left.

“When we [as students] went to King George, there was one man there, he was there for a long time,” says Linda. “He was a typhoid carrier, so he had to be isolated, and he loved all the student nurses coming.”

Linda said she also spent some time working in Princess Elizabeth with the post-polio patients. The epidemic was in the early ‘50s, so she was there ten years later. Now Linda is at Riverview participating in the programming at the Day Hospital, in the Robert Steen building.

“I didn’t think 60 years ago I’d be back here as a client,” says Linda.

The Day Hospital helps clients reach and maintain a level of physical, mental, emotional and functional health. At the day program, they do a little bit of everything, says Linda – exercises, activity-based therapy, lectures, and fun activities, like cooking and painting.

“I was a clown today,” Linda laughs, holding up the nose.

Linda comes in every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. She has coffee and toast, then they do exercises in the gym and other activities, then lunch and a lecture. Lectures are on a variety of topics including physical and mental health.  

Linda says, matter of fact, that she enjoys her time at Riverview and looks forward to it each week.

If you are interested in learning more about the Day Hospital Program, visit Day Hospital | Riverview Health Centre Inc. (rhc.mb.ca), or call 204-478-6262.