A unique clinic for treating children and young adults for concussion symptoms has been opened in Kelowna.

The BrainTrust Canada Concussion Clinic will provide medically supervised, one-on-one care to help those between the ages of five and 25 heal from a traumatic brain injury.

Mona Hennenfent, chief executive officer of BrainTrust Canada, said this non-profit venture is groundbreaking for B.C. and likely across Canada.

At this point, the clinic concussion recovery care program is not covered by BC Medical and the clinic is taking on patient referrals from doctors and hospital emergency rooms. The initial cost for a 10-day care intensive recovery program to start is $250.

91裸聊视频淥ur dream is for this kind of care to be covered here in B.C., and perhaps that is not so big a dream when you consider that Alberta health care does already cover concussion recovery costs,91裸聊视频� Hennenfent said.

91裸聊视频淭o me, it totally makes sense that concussion recovery is covered at an early intervention stage because of the array of debilitating symptoms that can occur if not treated properly. The days of sitting in a dark room or at home for two weeks, or pushing your way through and not listening to what your brain is telling you91裸聊视频�the health consequences of not listening to your body can become longer than they should be.

91裸聊视频淲e had identified 22 symptoms related to concussion injuries and how they interact with each other is complex. You have to understand the nuances of how they relate to one another in order to get better, otherwise there are symptoms that can last with you a long time.91裸聊视频�

The clinic is partnered with the developers of the medical action plan to manage a child91裸聊视频檚 concussion recovery.

RELATED: Okanagan-developed concussion treatment app takes off

Concussion medical physician Dr. David Rhine and occupational therapist Rose Kristiansen serve as advisors to the clinic program and worked on developing the P.A.C.E. initiative.

Hennenfent agrees that concussions sometimes don91裸聊视频檛 get the respect of other health illnesses when trying to understand why someone is feeling sick physically or mentally. Young athletes in particular feel pressured to get back into their sport, students may return to class too soon and employees can require more time off-work.

RELATED: B.C. family seeks to remove stigma attached to mental illness

91裸聊视频淲e tend to want to blame something else, but concussions are a serious injury. That is why they have started be referred to as traumatic brain injuries because a lot of people feel the word concussion is too common an expression.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not about fear mongering as you can recover, but there are methods to help you recover quicker and faster which our program is all about. It91裸聊视频檚 about giving yourself a short period of time to recover in order for your longer-term health benefit. 91裸聊视频�

At present, that program is being administered by clinic manager Christine Atkins, a certified athletic therapist with training and experience in concussion management within a clinical setting.

Hennenfent says the hope is that Atkins will build up a large enough client base to where she can work full-time at the clinic.

91裸聊视频淭o begin with, we are taking patient referrals from within a two hour radius but the hope is we can eventually become a provincewide service. At this stage, it91裸聊视频檚 about getting used to people paying for their health care when it comes to concussion recovery,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淲e have a form online you can fill out but part of that form is first requiring you to see your doctor.91裸聊视频�

While concussions suffered by seniors who fall is a huge concern, the clinic91裸聊视频檚 initial resources are focused on young people because their brains are still developing and especially repeat concussions can increase the risk of children and young adults suffering long-term effects.

Hennenfent says one statistic claims that one in five children in sports sustain a concussion every year, and that leads to issues of when a young athlete is both ready to return to their sports activity or even to school.

Psychiatric issues related to post-concussion recovery for NHLers

91裸聊视频淲ith a typical concussion, you might feel any different for the first hour, and start to feel physical symptoms such as nausea, slurred speech or dizziness two to six hours later,91裸聊视频� Hennenfent said.

Hennenfent said the medical profession generally is improving in its awareness of concussion symptom protocols.

91裸聊视频淥ne doctor told me it91裸聊视频檚 getting better but we91裸聊视频檙e not quite there yet. The difficulty is the symptoms related to concussions are also common in other illnesses,91裸聊视频� she said.

BrainTrust Canada, which is located in Kelowna, has taken on a supportive fundraising role for the clinic and Olympic gold medallist skier Kelsey Serwa, who has overcome concussions in her ski racing career, has signed on as spokesperson for the program.

91裸聊视频淜elsey91裸聊视频檚 concussions care was covered as a high level competitive athlete, but recreational athletes don91裸聊视频檛 have access to that level of care, so she personally understands what the level of recovery can be and what91裸聊视频檚 involved,91裸聊视频� Hennenfent said.

For more information about the BrainTrust Canada Concussion Clinic, check out the website