In June 1971, the rehabilitation center then occupied a 150 sq. meter space at the Ground Floor of the Private Hospital and was staffed by one physical therapist and two technicians treating an average of 5 to 10 patients per day using the most basic equipment.

By May of 1972, the name was officially changed to Apolinario Mabini Rehabilitation Center, firstly, to honor and recognize a great Filipino hero and a Thomasian alumnus-the sublime paralytic and to set an example of being of service to one's country in spite of disability and secondly, to adapt a rehabilitation center concept to emphasize the goal of the division to provide a modern, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary rehabilitation program at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital.

The A. Mabini Rehabilitation Center grew by leaps and bounds to its present day size of 1500 sq meters of treatment facility, situated not only in the private but also in the Clinical Division; a 15-bed ward for indigent rehabilitation in-patients; and services which included physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, electrodiagnosis, prosthetics and orthotics.