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Together for Heart Health: Community Collaboration Fuels PVCR Success

The Pembina Valley Cardiac Rehabilitation (PVCR) program is now being offered to people recovering from a heart event or procedure.

The program is celebrating 5 years of services and its 25th cohort this June, 2026!

a heart of hands

Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is an education and exercise program designed to support recovery after heart disease, heart surgery, or a heart attack. Participants learn skills for long-term heart health through:

  • regular supervised exercise
  • heart-healthy nutrition
  • medication management
  • stress management
  • lifestyle education and counselling

Each group aims to help 10-12 people recover from a heart event or procedure.  Cardiac rehabilitation can help you feel better, reduce your risk of another cardiac event, be stronger, and resume normal activities with renewed energy.

The PVCR healthcare team helps clients manage symptoms and develop confidence in making healthy lifestyle changes through exercise and routine physical activity.  

Throughout the program, our kinesiologist will monitor your exercise program and provide feedback and encouragement regarding your lifestyle goals.

If you have experienced a heart event or procedure or have a heart condition, ask your primary care provider about receiving a referral to the PVCR program. Patients may also self-refer. The PVCR program consists of two weekly sessions (2 hours each) for six weeks. Cost is only $50 and our facilities and programs are accessible and safe.

Our expert cardiac rehab team will ensure that your experience in our program is designed to meet your individual needs so that you can live your best life and get back to doing the things that you enjoy.

Please contact or 204-361-6043 for more information.

Pride Season

Pride Winnipeg is celebrated annually at the end of May through the first weekend of June, bringing the 2SLGBTQ+ community and its allies together to celebrate during a series of Pride events.

Pride

The 2026 Pride Winnipeg Festival will be held from June 6 to June 7

Pride Season – Pride Winnipeg

Mental Health Week

May 4-10

Social connection is essential to overall health and well-being. But too many people are feeling alone. In Canada, around 17% of youth, 13% of adults, and 10% of seniors say they feel lonely often or always.

green dots

May 4-10, Canadian Mental Health Association is inviting people across Canada to Come Together. It’s a call to spark small, everyday actions of connection, and to recognize the role we all play in supporting mental health through connection.

Together, we can strengthen mental health, build healthier communities, and help more people feel connected. Because connection strengthens mental health.  Understanding your connection style can help you build stronger, more meaningful relationships, and support your mental well-being.  Canadian Mental Health Association created this fun, non-diagnostic quiz to help you discover your connection style.

Check out the quiz.

Stigma-Free Mental Health

Rural Peer Support Fundamentals Training

Would you like to learn how to apply peer support skills and create peer support groups in your community?

group counselling

The Stigma-Free Mental Health peer support training costs $50 for administration fees. If the $50 admin fee is a barrier, please contact the email below to discuss fee waiver options. Group registrations are also available. All training sessions are virtual.

Contact or access more information.

211 Manitoba | Share your organization!

211 Manitoba is the front door to community-based government, health and social services designed to meet the needs of diverse populations, across all different aspects of life. It is a free, confidential service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in more than 150 languages, including 4 Indigenous languages.

sharing contact information

Want community members to know about the services your organization can offer? Please fill out this form to have your organization or one you know of to be listed in the 211 Manitoba database.

Bear Witness Day | Jordan’s Principle

Jordan Principle

Le 10 mai

2026 is the 21st anniversary of Jordan’s Principle.

In 2005, the family of Jordan River Anderson gave the sacred gift of his name to the creation of Jordan’s Principle. Celebrated annually, Bear Witness Day honours Jordan River Anderson and invites people of all ages to “Bear Witness” to ensure Jordan’s Principle is fully implemented. Bear Witness Day is celebrated on May 10th because this is an important date in the history of Jordan’s Principle at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

Bear Witness Day | First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

Rural Interest Group – Boundary Trails Health Centre

Menzies Medical Centre and C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre, in partnership with Southern Health–Santé Sud, welcomed first- and second‑year medical students through the Rural Interest Group for a weekend workshop highlighting the rewards of practicing medicine in rural communities. A total of 39 University of Manitoba medical students took part in the event on April 11, 2026.

Rural Interest Group
Credit: Goldenwest

Students rotated through hands‑on clinical workstations at Boundary Trails Health Centre, where they practiced skills ranging from suturing and intubation techniques to pediatrics and women’s health. They also toured the regional health centre, gaining insight into the diverse opportunities and advantages available to physicians considering rural practice in the Morden and Winkler communities.

Lunch, a cider tour and social time were hosted at the Deadhorse Cider just outside of Winkler, giving students an additional opportunity to connect with one another, local physicians and community members.

We would like to acknowledge the commitment and investment in recruitment and retention efforts demonstrated by Menzies Medical Centre, C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre, staff, physician leaders and community members.

Thank you!

Love My Community Challenge

Love My Community Day was created by a group of students at Roseau Valley School in Southern Manitoba to spread kindness, create joy, and build relationships with community of all ages. The goal is to think of small things that we can do that help ourselves and others take care of our mental wellbeing!

graphic of diverse hands and hearts

Entries Due May 10th, 2026

We all have MENTAL HEALTH!

All organizations, groups, and businesses in Southern Health-Santé Sud Health region are invited to participate

See below for Project Examples, How to Enter and Mental Health Promotion Resources.

Kindness & Appreciation

  • Celebrate and share what you love about your community through a message, poster, or video.
  • Write thank-you cards for community volunteers who make a difference.
  • Create positive posters or sidewalk chalk messages.
  • Bring baking or snacks to share with seniors.

Community Connection

  • Host a small community gathering (hot chocolate, art night, etc.).
  • Organize a “Walk at Lunch” community walk.
  • Create a memory-sharing board about meaningful places or events.
  • Partner with a local group, organization, RM, or town to host a Love My Community event.

Community Care

  • Organize a neighborhood clean-up.
  • Paint kindness rocks for your community.
  • Build and install birdhouses around your community.
  • Host a donation drive for a local foodbank or charity.
  • Plant trees in your community.

Creativity & Activities

  • Paint a mural celebrating your community.
  • Plan outdoor activities for a daycare or seniors group.
  • Perform a dance or small performance at a Seniors’ Centre.

Mental Health & Well-Being

  • Share with your community how you take care of your mental health and encourage others to do the same.
  • Involve your community in activities during Mental Health Awareness Week.

Or create your own idea to show appreciation for your community

How to Share Your Project

Fill out entry form attached and email it along with any pictures to [email protected] or [email protected]

Once the blitz is complete, we would love to feature your organization, group, or business by creating a video to share how far the initiative has spread throughout the region, and highlight projects to inspire others!

We would love to see what you do in your community!

Resources:

CMHA Mental Health Promotion

CMHA Mental Health Week

CMHA Mental Health for Life

Earth Day

Every day is Earth Day, but especially April 22nd!

earth in a forest of trees

Conscious Consumption encourages us to consume less – more mindfully/sustainably – and better, to reduce our impact on the planet while improving our quality of life. Check out different ideas how people individually, in organizations and businesses, and how municipalities can take steps to practicing conscious consumption.

National Immunization Awareness Week

April 26 to May 2

With the increasing cases of Measles in Manitoba, Healthy Living team would highly encourage people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already and celebrate the National Immunization Awareness Week by getting immunized now!  

three youth immunized

National Immunization Awareness Week (NIAW) is an annual event held in the last week of April to highlight and recognize the importance of immunization. This year, Canada’s NIAW – from 26 April to 2 May 2026 and the theme for this year is “The time is Now! Get immunized”.

Learn more visit NIAW.