Sanford Bismarck installs thermal body temperature scanner
Contact:
Jon Berg
Sanford Health Media Relations
(701) 516-4903
jon.berg@sanfordhealth.org
@SanfordJonBerg
BISMARCK, N.D., April 9, 2020 — In an effort to keep its patients and employees safe, Sanford Health continues to take extra precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sanford Health in Bismarck is the first health care system in North Dakota and one of the first in the nation to install a thermal body temperature scanner inside its medical center.
The scanner is a non-contact measurement system that rapidly takes a person’s body temperature to ensure they don’t have a fever. One of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 is a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Learn more: How can I tell if I have coronavirus?
“When patients walk into our medical center, they are directed to stand in a designated area where the scanner will take their temperatures,” said Fred Fridley, vice president of operations at Sanford Health in Bismarck. “It picks out the heat in a person’s head and processes it into a temperature. By doing this, we are keeping our patients and employees much safer because our employees aren’t getting within six feet of patients to take their temperatures.”
Prior to the installation of the thermal body temperature scanner, Sanford employees would take a patient’s temperature using a forehead thermometer when they checked in at the Bismarck medical center.
In addition to taking non-contact temperatures, the scanner also allows more people to get their temperature taken in a given period compared to using a forehead thermometer.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the United States, is dedicated to the integrated delivery of health care, genomic medicine, senior care and services, global clinics, research and affordable insurance. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization includes 44 hospitals, 1,400 physicians and more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations in 26 states and nine countries. Nearly $1 billion in gifts from philanthropist Denny Sanford have transformed how Sanford Health improves the human condition.
