Sanford Bemidji can now test for COVID-19 with results available in 45 minutes.
According to a release, these rapid tests will be used for high priority hospital patients. Sanford Health in Fargo and Sioux Falls began 90-minute rapid testing earlier this month.
Bemidji is one of the most recent Sanford regions to implement this test. The addition of rapid testing is expected to increase Sanford’s testing capacity up to 1,500 tests per week, across the entire Sanford organization. Dr. David Wilcox, vice president medical officer for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota, says these tests will help address concerns of patients and the safety of the staff caring for them.
“These tests will help us make important clinical decisions and inform patients of results much faster. This will also help address the worries of our patients and the safety of our staff caring for these patients,” said Dr. Wilcox.
“Bringing rapid results to the most vulnerable patients of this illness is a major step in our battle against this pandemic. We are thankful to have so many great people working around the clock to deliver advances like this during these difficult times.”
