June 7, 2021
Sometimes the greatest advances in medical technology do not feel that high tech at all. Despite this, they completely change the way we live and better our community in essential ways. Virtual visits are a great example of this. Almost overnight, they have forever changed how people receive health care and access their provider. On the Iron Range, this change can be seen most prominently by the uptick in virtual visits offerings provided by local healthcare systems. While face-to-face visits will always be essential in some situations, virtual visits have become a wonderful resource for both patients and providers.
We’re lucky to live in an area that offers plenty of good food, fresh air, and outside activities. This is useful during any winter, but it’s especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying mentally and physically healthy during the colder, darker months can boost your wellbeing and your happiness. According to Dr. Susan Hoyum, a Family Medicine physician at Fairview Mesaba Clinic – Hibbing, here are a few ways you can keep up your health right now.
As the pandemic continues, we highly suggest that you stay home, if possible. However, if you are following pandemic best practices and are feeling healthy, we encourage you to look into donation blood. With the fear of COVID-19, the number of blood donations has decreased. Minnesota hospitals are always in need of vital blood and plasma for patients. If you are following pandemic best practices and are feeling healthy, we encourage you to look into donating blood.
Fairview Range is continuing to take steps to protect our patients and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, all patients, visitors, and staff entering Fairview Range Medical Center in Hibbing, Fairview Mesaba Clinics in Hibbing, Nashwauk, or Mountain Iron, and Fairview Plaza, will undergo temperature screening, in addition to the current screening questions, each day for signs of possible COVID-19 infection.
We’ve started to restore in-person patient visits in our hospital and clinics, while still taking the precautions necessary to keep our patients and staff safe during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
To protect our patients from the flu and other common illnesses, Fairview Range enforces visitor restrictions year round. Due to the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota, we have taken additional steps to ensure the health of our patients, including the implementation of enhanced visitor restrictions at Fairview Range.
Here are our current visitor restriction policies as of June 24, 2020:
We've recently added iPads to our Emergency Department and we're distributing them to local ambulances to provide critical visual communications between first responders and ED providers. This was made possible by a grant from the Blandin Foundation and Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. Fairview Range Emergency Department (ED) and Hibbing Fire Department (HFD) serve patients from all local clinics, including Fairview Range, Essentia, and St. Luke’s.
As a precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19, we made the hard decision to stop unnecessary in-person patient visits earlier this year. Thankfully, St. Louis County and surrounding area numbers have been staying low.