“The annual Smile Cookie campaign is a powerful reminder of what community truly means. For the past 30 years, Tim Hortons restaurant owners, team members, and guests have come together to create real change for people right in their own neighbourhoods,” says Axel Schwan, President of Tim Hortons. “With nearly 700 local charities and community groups supported this year, the reach of this campaign has never been greater. We encourage everyone to visit their local Tims and join us in making a difference.”

Smile Cookies are Tims signature Chocolate Chunk Cookies that are hand-decorated with pink and blue icing to create a smile.

“Smile Cookie week is something our community looks forward to each year. It’s a joyful way to support our tiniest patients,” said Pamela Ross, CEO, RVH Foundation. “Funds raised through initiatives like this help support exceptional care at RVH for patients during some of life’s most important moments, including labour, delivery, and newborn care. We’re so grateful to Tim Hortons owners, team members, and guests for making every cookie count.”

“Smile Cookie Week is an exciting time,” says Kelly Hubbard, Executive Director, Hospice Simcoe – Seasons Centre. “Funds raised through this wonderful campaign allow us to continue to provide adults and children with compassionate end-of-life care services and essential grief support programs. We are very grateful for the incredible support we receive from the Barrie and area Tim Hortons owners, their teams, and everyone who purchases a Smile Cookie.”

To support this year’s Smile Cookie campaign, guests can visit their local Tim Hortons or place an order through the Tims app for delivery. Bulk pre-orders for Smile Cookies can be placed through an order form at Tims restaurants.

A cute and cuddly four-in one reversible Smile Cookie plushie is also available this year. Net proceeds from plushie sales will be donated to local charity and community groups.

• Starting April 27 until May 3, 100 per cent of the proceeds from Smile Cookie sales will be donated to nearly 700 charities and community groups across Canada, which were selected by local Tim Hortons restaurant owners.

• Last year, Tims® guests helped raise $22.6 million through the annual Smile Cookie campaign. More than $151 million has been raised across Canada and the U.S. since the Smile Cookie campaign first launched in 1996.
• Locally, Barrie’s Tim Hortons restaurant owners have stepped up in a big way—committing to raise $1 million for RVH and another $1 million for Hospice Simcoe through the spring Smile Cookie Campaign.

• In 2025, Tim Hortons restaurant owners rallied the community to raise more than $220,000 which was split equally between RVH and Hospice Simcoe.

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Located at the heart of the health centre, the new space reflects RVH’s commitment to becoming a regional academic health sciences centre, where education, innovation and care come together to improve patient outcomes.

Inside, glass-walled rooms and shared spaces make learning visible. Simulation labs, observation areas and flexible classrooms are designed to mirror real hospital environments, so teams can train in settings that feel familiar and real.

Here, teams can work through complex situations in a realistic setting. Using high-fidelity mannequins and virtual reality, they can respond to emergency scenarios, refine decision-making and learn together in a safe, controlled environment.

That preparation matters, because when teams are confident and ready, patients benefit.

“Every day, our teams show up ready to care for this region,” said Gail Hunt, President and CEO. “This centre is our commitment to them — to give them the tools, space and support to keep learning, to keep growing and to keep delivering the best possible care. When we invest in our people, we strengthen care for every patient who walks through our doors.”

The Centre for Integrated Learning brings healthcare professionals together across disciplines. Physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and learners train side by side, building the communication, trust and teamwork that are essential in high-pressure situations.

It is also where experienced teams hone their skills and mentor the next generation. Students, residents and new staff learn alongside those who have done it before, building confidence and skills that carry into patient care.

“When we invest in education, the impact grows far beyond one moment or one patient,” said Dr. Jeffrey Tyberg, Chief of Staff and Vice-President, Academic and Medical Affairs. “When experienced team members share their knowledge and mentor others, that expertise carries forward. It creates a ripple effect, strengthening teams and improving care for hundreds of patients over time. That is how we continue to raise the standard of care across our region.”

The centre supports hands-on, team-based learning across programs. Teams can practise the moments they experience every day, assessing patients, making decisions, communicating clearly and working together to provide safe, effective care. It also prepares them for the moments they may see less often, but where every second matters, including trauma, cardiac emergencies and other complex situations.

Each year, RVH supports hundreds of learners and provides thousands of hours of hands-on training. This new space expands that work, helping teams build skills, strengthen decision-making and continue growing throughout their careers.

It also strengthens RVH’s ability to attract and train the healthcare professionals our region needs, now and into the future.

The Centre for Integrated Learning is fully donor funded and made possible through the generosity of the community.

A $1 million gift from Innovative Automation, a Barrie-based company and global leader in advanced manufacturing technologies, is helping bring virtual reality and immersive learning tools into the hands of care teams within this new space, helping to transform how medical education is delivered. Their contribution, along with others to the RVH Foundation’s Keep Life Wild campaign, is helping advance RVH’s role as a regional leader in learning, innovation, and clinical excellence.

This new centre is more than a place to learn. It reflects who RVH is becoming: an academic health sciences centre where learning is part of everyday care, and where that commitment leads to better outcomes for patients and families, close to home.

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Patients across Simcoe Muskoka can now access advanced lung testing closer to home at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), thanks to new technology and expanded services.

The health centre has introduced a new, minimally invasive procedure that helps care teams diagnose lung conditions, including lung cancer, with greater accuracy. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Canada, making timely diagnosis critical.

“Bringing this technology and expanding our program is a big step forward for our region,” said Leanne Weeks, Vice President, Clinical, and Chief Nursing Executive at RVH. “For patients, this means faster answers, fewer repeat procedures and the ability to begin treatment sooner. In the past, many patients had to travel to larger centres, including Toronto, for this type of specialized testing.”

The new technology, called Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS), is a minimally invasive day procedure that allows doctors to examine the lungs and nearby lymph nodes using ultrasound technology. During the procedure, a thin camera and ultrasound probe are gently guided through the airway into the lungs. This allows physicians to see areas that cannot be seen with traditional bronchoscopy and take precise biopsy samples when needed.

EBUS can help diagnose several conditions, including lung cancer, infections and inflammatory lung diseases.

The addition of Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) makes the procedure even more efficient. A cytologist—a laboratory specialist trained to examine cells and tissue samples—is present in the procedure room to assess samples immediately and confirm whether enough tissue has been collected for an accurate diagnosis. If more tissue is needed, additional samples can be taken during the same procedure, reducing the need for patients to return for repeat testing.

“This is a great example of how our clinical and pathology teams work together to improve care,” said Dr. Ali Malik, Respirologist, and Interventional Pulmonologist at RVH. “Having that level of expertise available during the procedure ensures adequate diagnostic material, minimizes procedure time, and prevents need for repeat procedures. It helps us move more quickly from suspicion of disease to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up—so patients can get answers and begin the next steps in their care sooner.”

Not all hospitals in Ontario that offer EBUS also provide ROSE, making this an important advancement for patients in Simcoe Muskoka.

To support this work, RVH has expanded its endoscopy program with the addition of a fourth procedure room. The new space will allow the hospital to perform about 2,600 more endoscopy procedures each year, improving access to important diagnostic tests.

By increasing capacity, RVH is also creating more space for specialized procedures and growing programs.

“These advancements are helping ensure people in our region can access leading-edge lung care sooner and closer to home, keeping them connected to their families and support systems,” said Weeks. “As our community continues to grow, expanding access to advanced diagnostics and treatment is essential.”

The procedures are currently performed several times each week at RVH, with plans to complete up to 240 procedures a year.

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RVH becomes the seventh partner of KHA, which was founded in 2017 by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and CHEO. Since its inception, KHA’s network of partners have worked to streamline and advance paediatric health care, with the goal of improving children, youth and family experiences, no matter where they are seeking care.

“When a child is sick or injured, everything else stops for a family. In those moments, nothing matters more than knowing your child will receive the right care,” said Gail Hunt, president and CEO, RVH. “Partnering with Kids Health Alliance helps strengthen how we deliver that care at RVH and supports our teams as they continue caring for children and youth across our region.”

The partnership will focus on enhancing care for children and youth in the RVH Emergency Department (ED), neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and inpatient paediatric unit.

“This partnership will help us care for more complex paediatric needs, strengthen how we support our teams and continue building a hospital that better supports kids and families,” said Leanne Weeks, vice-president, clinical, and chief nursing executive, RVH. “It’s about making sure care is consistent, coordinated and designed with children in mind.”

RVH joins six other community hospital partners: Markham Stouffville Hospital, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Pembroke Regional Hospital, Humber River Health, Michael Garron Hospital and Southlake Regional Health Centre.

“KHA’s guiding principle from our founding remains true today: where a child lives should not impact the care they receive. Care closer to home matters. That’s why, on behalf of the KHA Board and current community hospital partners, we’re thrilled to partner with Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre to continue to improve the health-care system for children, youth and their families,” said Dr. Ronald Cohn, KHA Board Chair and President and CEO of SickKids. “We look forward to collaborating with RVH, a leader in the community, to support and learn from their work in delivering high-quality paediatric health care.”

“KHA is uniting organizations across Ontario with a singular mission: to transform the health and well-being of children and youth. Through collaboration, innovative education and targeted capacity building, KHA is driving real change and better outcomes for families across the province,” said Kelly McMillen, Interim Executive Director of KHA and Executive Director of SickKids Learning Institute. “Community hospitals play an essential role in caring for the province’s children, and RVH’s addition to KHA creates a strategic opportunity to deepen regional synergies with nearby partner hospitals, including Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and Southlake Regional Health Centre. We’re thrilled to welcome RVH to the network.”

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At 55, Mike was at a routine physical required for his commercial driver’s licence when his physician mentioned he was due for colorectal cancer screening using a fecal immunochemical test (FIT).

At the time, Mike had no symptoms and no family history of colorectal cancer. Having completed a screening test a few years earlier, he wasn’t concerned. 

“I didn’t think anything would come of it,” he says. “I felt completely fine.”

This time, the result came back abnormal. Within weeks, Mike had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

“I was stage 3 by that point,” he says. “If I had put the test off, it might have been too late for me.”

Colorectal cancer often develops without symptoms in its early stages, which is why screening is so important. When symptoms do appear, they can include changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, abdominal discomfort or unexplained weight loss—signs that can easily be overlooked or attributed to other causes.

Following his diagnosis, Mike underwent surgery to remove the tumour and affected lymph nodes, followed by six months of chemotherapy at RVH’s Hudson Regional Cancer Centre. 

Today, Mike is cancer-free and focused on what matters most: being a husband, father and grandfather. Looking back, he says the message is simple.

“You rarely feel cancer when it first starts,” he says. “I felt healthy. I had no symptoms. The only reason it was caught was because of the FIT test.”

For most people at average risk, screening starts with a FIT test —a simple, at-home test that checks for tiny amounts of blood in the stool that you wouldn’t be able to see. This can be one of the earliest signs of colorectal cancer.

Through Ontario’s ColonCancerCheck program, FIT is recommended every two years for people aged 50 to 74 and is available at no cost.

“The FIT test is easy,” says Mike. “You swab your stool, put it in the container, and mail it in. That’s it. It literally saved my life.”

While the idea of a stool test may feel uncomfortable, it’s one of the simplest and most effective ways to catch cancer early. The test is mailed directly to your home in discreet, plain packaging. It can be completed in minutes and returned by mail in a prepaid package.

“As a regional cancer centre, RVH plays an important role in supporting screening participation and ensuring people can access timely diagnosis and treatment closer to home,” says Dana Naylor, Vice President, Clinical and Regional Vice President, Cancer Services, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). “When cancers are caught early through routine screening, it allows us to move quickly to connect patients to the care they need, without having to leave their community.” 

Now cancer-free, Mike continues to give back as a member of RVH’s Hudson Regional Cancer Centre Patient, Family and Caregiver Advisory Committee.

He’s also using his voice to encourage others to take that first step.

“We all know someone affected by cancer, but we don’t think it will happen to us,” he says. “I can’t stress how easy it is to complete a simple test that could save your life.”

Since sharing his story, Mike says friends and colleagues have taken their FIT test—leading to more people getting screened and at least one early detection.

For help getting up to date with breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer call the Simcoe Muskoka Cancer Screening Hotline 1-866-608-6910 and inquire if they are eligible to have a FIT kit mailed directly to their home. 

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A decades long partnership between Snow Valley Resort and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) continues to make a lasting impact on healthcare in Simcoe Muskoka. With the success of the third annual Wild Winter Weeknight, Snow Valley Resort has now raised more than $635,000 for advanced patient care through community-driven events.

This year’s Wild Winter Weeknight event alone brought in $75,000 as families and winter enthusiasts gathered at Snow Valley Resort for an evening of snow tubing, snowshoeing, magic, and sweet treats—all in support of bringing advanced care closer to home.

“We enjoy hosting Wild Winter Weeknight year after year,” said Ron Sheardown, co-owner, Snow Valley Resort. “There’s a lot of energy around this event, and it’s exciting to see the community come together for some winter fun while supporting RVH patients and their families.”

Presented by PureHealth Pharmacy, Wild Winter Weeknight continues to grow as one of the region’s most joyful winter traditions, showing what’s possible when community spirit meets a shared commitment to local healthcare.

“Wild Winter Weeknight continues to show the power of community,” said Mary-Anne Frith, Chair of the RVH Foundation Board and Keep Life Wild campaign. “We’re grateful to Snow Valley Resort, our sponsors, and everyone who came out to support the event. Nights like these help ensure families across our region can access advanced care, right here at home.”

Proceeds from the evening support RVH’s Keep Life Wild campaign, a bold, community-led effort focused on enhancing specialized care in cancer, heart, kidney, stroke, trauma, and mental health for everyone in Simcoe Muskoka.

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Northwest provides healthcare real estate solutions to physicians and healthcare professionals across Canada, including the Barrie Primary Care Campus on Bayview Drive. For this project with RVH, Northwest will lease the land, as well as fund and oversee construction of the new healthcare services building. The building will be constructed on an existing staff parking lot located on the other side of Gallie Court from RVH’s main building.

“Northwest has a long history of partnering with leading healthcare providers to create modern, purpose-built spaces that support high-quality care,” says Zach Vaughan, CEO, Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT. “By working with RVH on this new health services building, we are helping to bring primary care, specialist and complementary services together on one campus, improving care for patients.”

The current estimate for completion of the building is 2029. Next steps in the project include pre-consultation meetings for site planning and preparation, as well as ongoing work on the building design by Northwest. 

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Valentine’s Day will mean more than flowers and cards for Cliff Lloyd and his family this year.

Just months ago, Cliff suffered a major heart attack. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, he returned to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) with his wife and two daughters to thank the cardiac team who saved his life.

Last fall, while having routine bloodwork done, Cliff felt sudden, sharp pain in his back, left shoulder and chest.

“I knew right away something was off,” said Cliff. “I headed home and my wife drove me straight to the hospital. Looking back, that quick decision made all the difference.”

Cliff arrived at RVH’s Emergency Department and within an hour was undergoing bloodwork, an ECG and receiving medication. A Code STEMI was called — the hospital’s most urgent response to a severe heart attack— and he was transferred to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

Doctors determined Cliff had an occluded mid–Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery, often referred to as the “widow maker.” A stent restored blood flow to his heart, a rapid intervention that ultimately saved his life.

“From the very beginning, every member of the team was professional, calm and reassuring,” said Cliff. “Despite the seriousness of my condition, everything was explained in a way I could understand. They eased my fear and helped me focus on recovery.”

Cliff spent the remainder of the week in RVH’s Cardiac Care Unit before returning home with a cardiac education package and enrolment in the health centre’s Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program.

As the father of two, daughters Pam Newlove and Shawna Ropson, who both work at RVH and husband to retired RVH Medical Device Reprocessing Technician Heidi Lloyd, Cliff said being on the receiving end of care deepened the respect he already had for the teams at the health centre.

“I have always known the sacrifices healthcare workers make,” he said. “But being in their care gave me an even deeper appreciation for the skill, dedication and compassion that define the people who work at RVH.”

For his daughter, Shawna Ropson, a nurse in RVH’s Cancer Centre, seeing her father receive emergency cardiac care was emotional.

“As a nurse, you know how much planning and preparation happens behind the scenes,” said Ropson. “But when it’s your own dad, it can be scary. Watching the team move so quickly and confidently to coordinate his care brought me real relief. I’m proud to be part of a team that ensures families like mine have access to life-saving care when it matters most.”

RVH’s Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program provides advanced cardiac care close to home for patients from across the region and beyond. In the past year alone, the program performed 1,674 cardiac catheterizations and treated 280 STEMI cases. More than 370 pacemakers were implanted, 449 patients participated in the cardiac rehabilitation program and approximately 50,000 ECGs were completed.

“These numbers represent more than statistics — they represent lives changed and critical moments where minutes matter,” said Dana Naylor, Vice-President, Clinical, and Regional Vice-President, Cancer Services, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), at RVH. “Stories like Cliff’s remind us why rapid access to expert cardiac care close to home is so important. Our cardiac teams bring skill, coordination and compassion to every patient, every day.”

Heart disease remains the second leading cause of death in Canada. Early recognition of symptoms and immediate medical attention are critical in improving outcomes.

During February’s Heart Month, the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program encourages community members to lower their risk of heart disease by staying smoke free, being physically active, eating a balanced diet, limiting alcohol and working with their healthcare team to monitor and manage conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

For Cliff, returning to RVH was a welcome opportunity to thank the team who helped him get back to what matters most — being a husband and father.

“The care I received was exceptional, and I will never forget it,” said Cliff. “The skill, speed and teamwork gave me confidence that I was in the very best hands. My family gave me strength, and RVH gave me a second chance.”

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For many people, cervical screening has meant regular Pap tests. The new screening test now offers a more accurate test that can safely be done less often.

Yet, one in three eligible people in North Simcoe Muskoka is not up to date with cervical screening, often due to barriers such as limited access to primary care, time or past experiences with care.

Nearly 99 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV, a virus that can live in the body for years without causing symptoms. The new test now looks directly for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cell changes. This allows risk to be identified earlier, before cancer develops. The traditional Pap test looked for abnormal cells after changes had already begun.

Prevention does not stop with screening. The HPV vaccine protects against the most common high-risk types of the virus and plays a key role in preventing cervical cancer before it starts.

“HPV screening allows us to test directly for the virus that causes pre-cancer and cancer of the cervix, making it a much more accurate screening tool,” said Dr. Jennifer Tomas, a Collingwood gynecologist and Cervical Screening and Colposcopy Lead for North Simcoe Muskoka. “With that accuracy, screening can be done less often. When combined with HPV vaccination, it is a powerful step toward preventing — and ultimately eliminating — cervical cancer.”

Because the test is more accurate, most people only need to be screened every five years instead of every three.

Anyone aged 25 or older who has a cervix and has ever had sexual contact should take part in regular cervical screening, regardless of gender identity. This includes those who feel healthy, have had the HPV vaccine, are post-menopausal or have not been sexually active in years.

HPV testing provides a clearer picture of cancer risk. It helps healthcare providers focus follow-up care on those who need it, while safely reducing unnecessary testing and procedures for those at low risk.

For patients, the HPV test is performed in a similar way to a Pap test and is a fast, non-painful procedure. A doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife uses a speculum to view the cervix and a small, soft brush to collect cells from the cervix, while maintaining as much comfort for the patient as possible.

Anyone unsure about when they are due for screening, need help finding a provider or want more information can contact the Simcoe Muskoka Cancer Screening Hotline at 1-866-608-6910 to learn more and discuss next steps.

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“This is a meaningful step forward in the type of technology we use and how we continue to innovate and advance care for patients across our region,” said Gail Hunt, RVH President and CEO. “As demand for orthopaedic surgery continues to grow in our rapidly expanding community, this program ensures patients can access precise, personalized, state-of-the-art care close to home, delivered by highly skilled teams and supported by an incredibly generous community.”

Robotic-assisted joint replacement combines advanced medical technology with surgical expertise to help surgeons plan each procedure around a patient’s unique anatomy using detailed imaging and real-time guidance. Surgeons remain in full control throughout the procedure, with the robotic system acting as a tool to support accuracy and consistency.

For patients, this approach can support more precise implant placement and alignment and, after surgery, may contribute to less pain, improved mobility, and a faster rehabilitation process. While every recovery is unique, robotic assistance can help optimize early recovery following surgery.

“Joint replacement surgery can be life-changing for people who have lived for years with pain and limited mobility,” said Dr. Ryan Perlus, RVH orthopaedic surgeon. “Robotic assistance allows us to tailor each procedure to the individual by using personalized surgical plans and real-time guidance to support safe, precise and consistent outcomes, while keeping the surgeon firmly in control.”

Not every patient will require or benefit from robotic-assisted surgery. In its first year, RVH expects to use robotic-assisted techniques in approximately 400 of its annual 1,400 hip and knee replacements. Traditional hip and knee replacement surgery continues to be an excellent option for many patients and is delivered every day at the health centre by highly skilled surgical teams.

Beyond patient care, robotic-assisted surgery strengthens RVH’s academic and clinical mission by supporting advanced training, research and collaboration. It also ensures RVH’s workforce is equipped with leading-edge tools and technology to deliver exceptional care today, while continuing to build capacity for the future.

Behind this advancement is the generosity of the community. Both robots are fully donor funded. Without community donations, this new surgical robotics program would not have been possible.

“There is no innovation in medicine without the backing of donors. Every major leap in care at RVH has been powered by the generosity of this community,” said Pamela Ross, CEO of RVH Foundation. “Donors built the Hudson Regional Cancer Centre. They brought advanced cardiac care home. And now, with the opening of the surgical robotics program, they’re making another leap forward in the care people here need and rightfully deserve.”

As RVH continues its transformation toward becoming a regional academic health sciences centre, robotic-assisted orthopaedic surgery represents an important step in advancing innovation, supporting care teams, and delivering high-quality, patient-centred care for the region.

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