Edmonton sports clinic expands services to relieve burden on hospitals

File photo.

EDMONTON — An Edmonton clinic is taking on new patients to help alleviate pressure at hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, located in the Kaye Edmonton Clinic near the University of Alberta, is taking on more patients with acute musculoskeletal injuries and concussions.

Executive director Jason Sheehy said the clinic already saw patients with acute injuries — such as knee injuries — from emergency departments, but that it is expanding its client list while the primary care network is so stressed.

“We have changed our practice entirely so that all of our referrals coming in are first screened in triage by a physician, just to ensure the person is a good candidate for in person assessments, and then if they’re not, we’ll see them virtually.”

With fewer people at work, on roads, and participating in strenuous physical activities, he noted a “precipitous drop” in the number of injuries anyway.

That factor, combined with the growing ability to consult and assess patients virtually, puts Glen Sather physicians in a position to help.

“If it’s just a telephone call and offering some advice and reassurance, it can go a long way to preventing some future disability,” Sheehy said.

He added staff were mostly working remotely, and the clinic was following all recommendations from government health authorities.