Health & medicine: 1)Screen all kids between 2 and 10 for high cholesterol, pediatric society recommends; 2)RVH planning new 119,000 sq. ft. office building as Nuttall clears way for further expansion; 3)Doctors, health groups call for action as Canada lags on cervical cancer prevention; 4)Newsweek ranks UHN’s Toronto General the second-best hospital in the world; 5)Ontario family health teams urge funding to retain nurses, health professionals; 6) BBC and host apologize after racial slur shouted during BAFTA awards by guest with Tourette’s

1)Screen all kids between 2 and 10 for high cholesterol, pediatric society recommends

Courtesy Barrie360.com andCanadian Press

By Nicole Ireland, February 27, 2026

The Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending cholesterol screening for all kids between two and 10 years old.

The position statement released Friday says atherosclerosis — or plaque buildup in the arteries, including cholesterol — starts in childhood and is a key driver of heart disease and stroke.

Lead author and pediatric cardiologist Dr. Michael Khoury says about one in 300 people have high cholesterol caused by a genetic condition passed down through families.

He says universal screening with a blood test will allow doctors to identify the condition early and begin treatment, including diet and physical activity.

Khoury says those lifestyle changes aren’t enough for many kids with severely high cholesterol and treatment with medications can begin at age eight.

He says treating the condition in childhood can prevent cardiovascular illness from appearing in adulthood.

“We’re working to treat the 20-, 30- and 40-year-old version of that child,” said Khoury, who specializes in preventive cardiology at the Stollery Children’s Hospital and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Without universal screening, doctors are missing about 95 per cent of children who have the genetic condition, called familial hypercholesterolemia or FH, Khoury said.

Long-term safety data has shown that statin medications commonly used to treat high cholesterol in adults, such as Lipitor and Crestor, can be given to children age eight and above, often in lower doses, he said.

“The benefits of using these medications far outweigh the risks,” Khoury said.

“When you follow these children up 20 years later, you can normalize their cardiovascular risk and if we treat them adequately, remove the likelihood that they’re at a substantially increased risk for having an early heart attack or stroke when they’re in the prime of their lives in (their) 30s and 40s.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends all children have cholesterol tests between nine and 11 years of age.

But pediatricians in the U.S. may recommend screening as early as age two if they have significant risk factors, including high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes, a known family history of FH, or a parent or grandparent with heart or cholesterol problems, the American organization said.

Khoury said family doctors and pediatricians in Canada haven’t had a clear set of recommendations until now.

The guidance to do cholesterol screening between two and 10 years of age is meant to give primary care physicians as many chances as possible to do the blood test, even though treatment with medication likely wouldn’t begin until age eight.

“My approach personally to this is that we should be opportunistic. And so that means that if a child is going for blood work for another reason and a physician notes that they’ve never had a (cholesterol) screening test done before, we should tack it on,” Khoury said.

If a child has been seeing their doctor regularly as a baby and toddler but the physician doesn’t expect to see them as often during their school-age years, the doctor can decide to do the test then, he said.

If a child tests positive for FH, they are often referred to a pediatric lipid specialist like Khoury to monitor the levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol — often called “bad” cholesterol — and begin treatment as needed.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is most commonly caused by a mutation in the LDL receptor on the liver. The mutation prevents the LDL cholesterol from getting into the liver, so it accumulates in the blood, Khoury said.

That also triggers the liver to detect a “low cholesterol environment” and ramp up cholesterol production.

LDL cholesterol, along with fat and other substances, is a major component of plaque that builds up in the arteries and limits blood flow to the heart and brain.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

2)RVH planning new 119,000 sq. ft. office building as Nuttall clears way for further expansion

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, February 26, 2026

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) is exploring options for the construction of a new four-storey, 119,000 sq. ft. healthcare services building on east side of its existing property in Barrie.

The building will provide office space for services such as primary care, specialists and other complementary health providers.

For this project with RVH, Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT, the company responsible for the construction, will lease the land, as well as fund and oversee the build. The offices will be constructed on an existing staff parking lot located on Gallie Court opposite RVH’s main building.

Northwest was also at the helm of the construction of the Barrie Primary Care Campus on Bayview Drive.

The project is currently in the pre-consultation stage, but estimates for completion of the building is 2029.

“Through a strategic partnership, we are exploring options for the construction of a new healthcare services building on existing RVH property,” Gail Hunt, the hospital’s president and CEO said in a news release. “Having this building in close proximity to RVH is an important part of creating healthcare infrastructure for the growing region.

“As the population of Barrie and the surrounding area continues to grow, there is a need for additional space to accommodate health services, whether they be primary care, specialists or other associated services such as physiotherapy,” Hunt says. “Through RVH’s partnership with Northwest to construct this building, we will be able to meet this need, building a comprehensive healthcare community around RVH for the benefit of patients locally and across the region.”

The partnership between Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT will result in the construction of a healthcare services building on the east side of RVH’s property. The building will provide office space for services such as primary care, specialists and other complementary health providers.

The announcement from RVH comes as Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall issued a mayoral direction on Thursday for City staff to rezone lands owned by for the purpose of fast-tracking hospital projects.

It’s the 19th such move by Nuttall since the province expanded strong mayor powers to him and other mayors of similarly sized municipalities in July 2023, and his second of 2026.

The direction states that the subject lands be rezoned from their current classifications to either “Business Park with Special Provisions” or Major Institutional with Special Provisions.” In his direction, Nuttall says that the refinements are meant to implement the City’s Strategic Employment and Economic District (SEED) designation as it applies to RVH.

“As Barrie continues to grow, our healthcare infrastructure must grow with it,” Nuttall said in a release. “By removing barriers and working collaboratively with our partners, we are helping lay the groundwork for timely projects that will ensure residents can access the high-quality care they deserve, close to home.”

RVH recently acquired lands and buildings east of Gallie Court and south of Quarry Ridge Road, as well as additional lands north of Georgian Drive and West of Penetanguishene Road that could be used for expansion.

Those lands set to be rezoned include a collection of 10 municipal addresses:

201 Georgian Drive

348 Georgian Drive

1 Quarry Ridge Road

5 Quarry Ridge Road

31 Quarry Ridge Road

15 Gallie Court

135 Dunsmore Lane

145 Dunsmore Lane

366 Penetanguishene Road

384 Penetanguishene Road

“RVH is planning for the future with both patients and team members at top of mind,” Hunt says. “As our region grows in population and the demand for healthcare services also increases, there are opportunities we must act on to continue meeting the needs of our community and Simcoe Muskoka.

“Due to this growth, we have also developed a long-term parking strategy after evaluating numerous options. The addition of surface parking down the road from the health centre allows us to address our current capacity challenges for staff, and provides parking for patients and visitors close to the health centre.”

The by-law will be presented at the city council meeting on March 25.

3)Doctors, health groups call for action as Canada lags on cervical cancer prevention

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Sarah Ritchie, February 25, 2026

Cervical cancer is both the fastest-growing type of cancer in Canada and one that is almost completely preventable — and advocates are gathering in Ottawa on Wednesday to call on the federal government to step up screening, prevention and vaccination.

The Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada, the Women’s Health Coalition and 19 other groups are holding a press conference to urge lawmakers to act to reverse the worrying trend.

Dr. Shannon Salvador, president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada, said in a press release that Canada has set a goal of eliminating cervical cancer before 2040.

“Some countries — notably Australia and Sweden — are closing in on the target of fewer than four cases per 100,000 population, which is considered elimination,” she said.

“Canada’s rate is currently more than double that and rising, and this is a national health crisis.”

More than 90 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common virus with multiple strains. It’s estimated that 75 per cent of people will have at least one HPV infection in their lifetime.

A highly effective vaccine for the virus has been widely available for years and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends a single dose for school-aged children.

It’s been shown to prevent up to 90 per cent of cancers caused by the virus. Research that examined data from 2014-18 in 14 countries, including Canada, found that girls who received the vaccine saw an 83 per cent reduction in the two main cancer-causing types of HPV. 

An advisory committee of federal and provincial experts on cervical cancer has released a “white paper” on the subject.

“No other single tool is as effective in preventing cancers as the HPV vaccine,” the paper’s authors said.

Canada’s cervical cancer elimination goal depends on having 90 per cent of children under 18 vaccinated by 2025. But vaccine uptake is much lower than that.

The provinces and territories have HPV vaccination programs for children between the ages of nine and 13, but research shows only about 64 per cent of eligible children get the shot, on average.

The report is calling for supports and advocacy to ensure all children are vaccinated through school programs, and for a catch-up program to ensure anyone under 18 can get the shot if they didn’t get it in school.

It’s also suggesting a policy of publicly funded access to the vaccine for anyone under 45.

The vaccine costs around $215 per dose and a typical course of treatment for adults requires two doses. Access to the vaccine is uneven across the country.

Quebec covers the cost of the vaccine for people between the ages of nine and 20, and it launched a temporary program in October 2024 to allow people up to age 45 to get two doses of the vaccine. That program “will soon come to an end,” says the province’s website.

In the territories and in other provinces, including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, the cost of the vaccine is covered for people up to age 26.

Ontario and Manitoba cover the vaccine for school-aged children and those deemed to be in high-risk groups.

While it is most commonly associated with cervical cancer, HPV can cause cancer of the vagina and vulva.

It also causes cancers that affect men, such as penile, anal and mouth and throat cancer. The report says rates of these HPV-caused diseases are also rising and boys should be vaccinated as well.

The paper calls for better early detection and screening programs. Some provinces, including Quebec, Ontario, P.E.I. and B.C., are now using tests for HPV as the primary cervical cancer screening tool, instead of the less-effective Pap test. Some provinces also have implemented self-testing programs.

Carmen Wyton, president of the Women’s Health Coalition of Canada, is urging lawmakers in Ottawa to pass a Senate bill that would create a national framework to promote, enhance and protect women’s heath.

Passing the bill could “standardize access to HPV testing and self-sampling across provinces and maintain health equity,” Wyton said in a press release.

4)Newsweek ranks UHN’s Toronto General the second-best hospital in the world

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Hannah Alberga, February 25, 2026

An annual hospital ranking by Newsweek magazine has deemed Toronto General the second-best in the world.

The University Health Network (UHN) hospital has moved up a spot since last year, placing just behind Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic on the U.S. magazine’s 2026 World’s Best Hospitals list Wednesday.

Newsweek, in partnership with Statista, ranked 250 hospitals by surveying medical experts, compiling patient experience data and quality metrics for more than 2,500 hospitals across 32 countries, with the aim of informing patients.

Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, which held second place for the past seven years, has been bumped down to third.

UHN President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Smith says moving up in the rankings as a universally accessible institution is a reason to celebrate, and in part credits a recent push to poach Canadian talent from institutions abroad.

Toronto General Hospital has cracked the Top 10 annually since the series began in 2019, most recently holding third place for two consecutive years.It’s known for cardiac care, organ transplants and complex patient needs.

“When you look down that list there are very few places in the world where you can say I can walk into a best-in-the-world hospital and it doesn’t matter if I’m one of the wealthiest people in that society or one of least advantaged people in the society, I will get the same care,” he said.

Smith said a withdrawal of investment in health research south of the border led to an opportunity to hire world-leading scientists who are pursuing research on viruses, vaccines and health equity, along with cancer and heart disease.

Smith said about a quarter of the 43 people recruited so far are Canadians abroad returning from the United States, in addition to candidates from Japan, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The goal is to hire 50 in total, and have had more than 700 candidates express interest.

“I do think this is a bit of a Canadian moment. We’ve been advantaged by that,” Smith said.

But he acknowledged there are hurdles that come with operating a publicly funded hospital compared to private models in the United States, chiefly the time it can take to receive federal approvals and provincial funding.

“What allows us to skate ahead is research. When we’re doing those clinical trials, when we are bringing those new therapies here and we do research on them and test them, that means Canadians are in fact still getting them first, like a first payer environment,” Smith said.

UHN operates 10 sites, which also include Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Mount Sinai Hospital moved up several places to 27 and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre fell from 24 to 30.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

5)Ontario family health teams urge funding to retain nurses, health professionals

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, February 24, 2026

Ontario is working toward attaching everyone in the province to a primary care provider, but family health teams are warning that as the government has its sights set on that laudable goal, the foundation of primary care is crumbling.

Family health teams include not just doctors, but also a variety of other health professionals to provide comprehensive care, such as nurses, social workers and dietitians. The government funding for those professionals has not kept pace with inflation or with the wages the same professionals earn in other health-care settings, the family health teams say.

Nurse practitioners could make an additional $20,000 or more per year by working in a hospital, and physician assistants could make an extra $30,000, says the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario.

“We’re getting funding to bring on more people and attach more Ontarians, but if you don’t actually stabilize the workforce you have and stabilize the capital space that you have, you’re very limited in terms of being able to sustain attachment,” association CEO Jess Rogers said in an interview.

“So we might make our attachment numbers this year, let’s say, or by 2029, but the concern is, we want to make sure Ontarians have access to the care, not that they’re only attached.”

Family health teams received a 2.7 per cent compensation increase last year, but that followed multiple years of stagnation and does not come close to the level needed to properly recruit and retain professionals, the association says.

Various family health teams and their association made presentations to a legislative pre-budget committee, asking for $430 million over five years to close what they call a structural wage gap, and for $115 million in already committed workforce funding to be released.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the province is investing a lot in family health teams, including more than $600 million this year.

“Ontario is the first Canadian jurisdiction to pass legislation that establishes a framework for its publicly funded primary care system, and through our $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan, we are both investing more in family health teams across the province and connecting everyone to a primary care provider by 2029,” Ema Popovic wrote.

Meghan Peters, executive director of a family health team in Sudbury, said some staff take on second jobs to make ends meet, though some could make tens of thousands of dollars more per year in different areas of the health sector.

“Passion for primary care is no longer enough to justify staying,” she told the pre-budget committee.

“And when these skilled professionals leave, the foundation of primary care weakens. Our ability to provide essential services, programs, timely access and comprehensive care is compromised. The ones that suffer most are our patients. As our health care professionals leave, our patients see longer wait times, reduced services, cancelled programs and face unattachment.”

Recruitment and retention across various areas of the health sector are a particular challenge for northern and rural Ontario, and family health teams say they are no exception.

Shannon Kristjanson, executive director of the Greenstone Family Health Team, told the committee they are funded for four nurse practitioners but only have one position filled.

“(At) the hospital, which is in the same parking lot as where we are — you can make around $40 an hour more as a nurse practitioner,” Kristjanson said.

“So it’s really difficult to recruit or retain almost all of the positions in health care in the north, but specifically nurse practitioners, just because of the pay difference.”

6)BBC and host apologize after racial slur shouted during BAFTA awards by guest with Tourette’s

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Canadian Press, February 23, 2026

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s film academy and the BBC apologized to viewers after an audience member with Tourette syndrome shouted a racial slur during the British Academy Film Awards.

The highly offensive word could be heard as “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s ceremony.

Host Alan Cumming had earlier told the audience that a guest at the ceremony was John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette’s who inspired the BAFTA-nominated film “I Swear.”

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalizations, including the uttering of inappropriate words.

After the outburst, Cumming apologized to the audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the “strong and offensive language.”

“Tourette syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language,” Cumming said. “We apologize if you were offended.”

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts referred to Cumming’s statement when asked for comment on Monday.

The epithet could be heard when the BBC broadcast the ceremony about two hours after the live event. The broadcaster apologized Monday, though the offensive word could still be heard on the broadcaster’s streaming site.

“This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional,” it said in a statement. “We apologize for any offense caused by the language heard.”

“I Swear” won two BAFTAs, including best actor for Robert Aramayo, who plays Davidson.

Ed Palmer, vice chairman of the charity Tourettes Action, said the BBC should have considered bleeping out the slur.

“This is really one of the most acute examples of where something that is a disability can cause quite understandably huge amounts of offense to someone,” he told Times Radio. “So, if it’s being prerecorded now, then bleeping it out, for example, might be a reasonable compromise.”