Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic to close permanently in the new year

The Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of Alberta will close at the end of the year. CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach explains why.

The University of Alberta’s Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic (GSSMC) has announced it will be closing its doors permanently in January.

The announcement was posted on the university’s website Friday citing the changing needs of elite and varsity sports teams and financial shortcomings as causes for the closure.

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“When the GSSMC opened in October 1988, there was nothing else like it in Edmonton,” said campus services associate vice-president Katherine Huising.

“At the time, having sports medicine, orthopedic surgeons, rehabilitation, physical therapists, massage therapists and orthotists under one roof was a groundbreaking idea.

“Teams that once used the clinic now have their own specialists and clinicians … the interdisciplinary model that was groundbreaking in 1988 is now more common. As the landscape became more competitive, GSSMC struggled to find its place in the marketplace,” she added.

In 2020, the Service Excellence Transformation (SET) Final Report was introduced across the university as a means to reduce the operational budget while “continuing to provide high-quality services with fewer staff members.”

The university-wide mandate forced the sports clinic to move their operations from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine to the Campus Services umbrella to keep the clinic viable.

Since then, the clinic has recorded annual losses ranging between $600,000 and $900,000 over the past three years, the announcement read.

The closure will terminate 10 full-time employees, four part-time positions and seven casual and auxiliary positions.

Huising said there will be no anticipated disruption in services to clients and clinicians will follow proper handoff guidelines outlined in the Alberta Medical Association’s Practice Management Program.

The expected date for the closure is Jan. 7, 2026.