Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare Opens Permanent Bemidji Location

Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare has always had a presence in Bemidji, but now with a new building, they’ll be able to reach even more patients all over the Lakeland News viewing area.

The facility means so much to the community that there was not only one but two ribbon cuttings to celebrate.

“We used to bring all this equipment in a truck and have to drive to each location and then offload all this equipment for the day and then onload it again at the end of the day. Now, we have a facility where we can keep things, stock what we need and be a solid presence in the community,” says Kathy Molina, an orthotist prosthetist with Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.

The facility will help people with childhood onset diagnosis such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and much more. Everything can be done there like creating leg braces, prosthetics and even cranial caps. For the doctors of Gillette, adding a Bemidji location was a long time coming.

“We just thought Bemidji would be a nice central site for a facility like this because it’s easier to draw in from the region. People coming down from International Falls or Crookston or in from Grand Rapids or out from Walker,” says Kevin Patrick Murphy, a pediatric rehabilitation medicine specialist with Gillette.

Inside the building, the area is spacious so patients with wheelchairs or walkers can easily get through. The exam rooms are also big, so families can be together comfortably. Another thing about Gillette is the care doesn’t stop when a patient turns 18. Instead, they receive the care for life.

“We see these kids all the way through their adulthood so each individual timeframe has its needs. You can have a very good fitting for a child and then they grow and you have to do adjustments, so it’s an ongoing process,” says Molina.

If a patient needs extra attention, the facility stays connected with its main campus in St. Paul. Doctors work with families to make sure they’re getting the best care possible.

“We pretty much accept anyone with any type of insurance or no insurance at all. We never turn anybody away, and we try to help find whatever resources are lacking and fill-in those spaces that might need additional attention that aren’t quite readily available or provided in the Bemidji or local region,” says Murphy.

For the near future, the site is already looking towards expanding services to help the area even more.

“In the near future we will also be adding other specialties via telemedicine, and that will be orthopedics and sleep health in the near future, so stay tuned for that,” says Mary Kautto, the nurse supervisor for Gillette Greater Minnesota clinics.

The clinic is open Wednesdays and Thursdays and goes by appointment. You can call (218) 728-6160 to schedule a session.