Concussion clinic for children to be opened by CHEO Friday

A concussion clinic geared specifically toward treating children and youth isopeningin Ottawa on Friday.

The clinic, operated by the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in the Billings Bridge neighbourhood, treats children and youth who have had a head injury and have been suffering from symptoms for more than a month.

CHEO hopes the Centre for Healthy, Active Living will help deal with a gap in the management of pediatric concussions, which are on the rise in Eastern Ontario.

Dr. Kristian Goulet, a pediatrician, and Dr. Gail Macartney, a nurse practitioner and researcher, will run the clinic at 1355 Bank St.

"They will assess symptoms, diagnose physical, social, cognitive and emotional problems, and help patients and families understand and manage their post-concussion symptoms and their recovery expectations," CHEO said Wednesday in a media release.

"The concussion clinic will also work with the patients primary care provider to ensure that care is co-ordinated and appropriate follow-up care is provided."

'He helped me out a lot,' patient says

Olivia Curry, a 16-year-old hockey player at St. Paul Catholic High School, had four concussions while playing hockey, and saideach concussion was worse than the one before.

She was treated by Goulet.

"He helped me out a lot. ... He gave me the steps on how I can [get better], and he gave me supplements and exercises to do," Curry said.

"I was scared at first, because I didn't know how long it was going to take to get better. I was very frustrated because it's a very slow, long process to get better from a concussion."

She no longer plays hockey and isn't yet able to do anything more than walk at a slow pace, but hopes to be more physically active again when she's better.

In Eastern Ontario, there are thousands of concussions a year arising from accidental or sport-related injuries, hundreds of which are treated at CHEO.

Up to 83 per cent of patients admitted to emergency rooms with a concussion have no arrangements for follow-up medical care, CHEO said.