The Rekai Family Commemorative Plaque, 2017
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Resource ID
5253
Access
Open
Address
625 Bloor St E, Toronto, ON M4W 3Z2
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2017
Historical Themes
Keywords
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Caption
The Rekai Family Commemorative Plaque, 2017
Description
The Rekai family arrived in Canada in 1950 from Paris, France, after escaping from Budapest two years earlier when the Soviet Union occupied Hungary. Upon receiving their licenses to practice medicine in Canada, brothers John and Paul purchased a large 19th-century house at 331 Sherbourne Street with the aim of converting it to a hospital.
Their private Central Hospital opened in 1957, with 32 beds and two operating rooms. In 1966, it became a public facility. The brothers’ wives, Kati and Halina, helped manage the hospital, which was unique because it focused on treating patients from Toronto’s growing immigrant population. Most of the doctors, nurses, cooks, and other staff had trained abroad and together were able to provide care in over 30 languages, taking into consideration differing cultural views of illnesses and healing practices.
Since the late 1980s, the Rekai Centres have been non-profit nursing homes caring for residents in a culturally sensitive environment.
Kati Rekai wrote children’s books that champion tolerance and have been published in seven languages. She promoted Canadian writers around the world. John, Paul, and Kati Rekai were appointed to the Order of Canada for their contributions to multiculturalism in health care and literature.
Marker lat / long: 43.671794, -79.370741 (WGS84)