Sanford Health Enforces Seasonal Visitor Restrictions at Bemidji, Bagley Hospitals

As of 7 a.m. last Wednesday, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center and Sanford Bagley Medical Center have been enforcing their seasonal visitor restrictions. These affect the number of visitors allowed per patient, what to do if you’re feeling ill, and more.

Winter weather brings about more than just temperature cold – it brings out sickness colds, as well as the flue and other respiratory illnesses.

“We have had a ongoing flu positivity rate of greater than 30%, and so that’s when we go to implement our visitor restrictions here at the hospital,” explained Claire Frenzel, Sanford Health of Bemidji’s Director of Clinics and Nursing Practice.

These visitor restrictions include having no more than four visitors in a day per patient, and only two visitors can be in a hospital room at one time. Any visitors who are minors must be accompanied by an adult, and only one person will be allowed to spend the night.

Additionally, the hospitals say that if you think wearing a mask may not be enough, to just stay home.

“It’s also a great time to remind everyone it’s really important to get your flu shots every year,” added Frenzel. “It has got great coverage this year to cover the influenza A strain that we’re seeing.”

There is also no set end date for these restrictions. They will last until the test positivity rate is below 30% for two consecutive weeks.

“The wonderful kindergarten rule of ‘wash your hands’ is the absolute best, number one form of prevention for any illness like this,” Frenzel said. “So washing your hands, we encourage the wearing of masks if you need to, and then covering your cough.”

These restrictions were created to keep patients, staff, and visitors safe and are only being implemented in the hospitals, not in Sanford Health’s walk-in clinics. Sick people may be asked to wear a mask while at the clinic, but they are urged to go in and get tested when experiencing symptoms.

“A lot of times patients with the flu will describe it as feeling like they’ve been hit by a Mack truck,” said Frenzel. “It’s not the typical, ‘I’ve got a stuffy nose,’ that type of thing. What we really see is high fever, body aches, lethargy, lack of appetite, those types of things. And when those symptoms are prolonged, depending on your health history, it’s really important to get checked out.”

The visitor restrictions may change as the next several weeks go on. Any updates will be posted on the Sanford Health website as well as on social media.