In 1886, at the top of a hill near the corner of Bathurst St. and Davenport Road what was then known as Hillcrest Convalescent Home took form. At the time it was a quiet place in the country to convalesce after a stay at Toronto General Hospital. Over the years the Home became a hospital and added services such as occupational therapy to provide patients with useful activities. By 1962, the hospital that stands now was built to usher in a modern era. By the 1970s, Hillcrest Hospital experimented with new rehabilitation programs for people who had suffered a stroke, amputees and for cardiac patients.

Today Hillcrest Centre, as it is now known, is part of Toronto Rehab, an amalgamation of four rehabilitation hospitals. Hillcrest continues to provide specialized musculoskeletal rehabilitation up on the hill. The introduction of oncology rehab and multiple trauma rehab in 2001 broadened the role of musculoskeletal rehabilitation to provide therapy and quality of life for patients with these conditions.

The Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Program also successfully recruited a new medical director in 2003. Dr. John Flannery plans to further develop inpatient services to continue to meet the growing need for rehabilitation and to pioneer much needed outpatient services.