Sanford Health Opens Rural Inpatient Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Bemidji

Sanford Health opened a new inpatient behavioral-health crisis center in Bemidji, creating what Sanford calls the region’s only inpatient behavioral health crisis center and adding eight adult psychiatric inpatient beds to service options for northern Minnesota. The center includes an EmPATH unit for children, adults and families and will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, officials said.

Builder Kraus-Anderson lists the project at 12,600 square feet, while local reporting described the site as about 12,000 square feet; both sources characterize the facility as the first of its kind in the Bemidji area. The layout combines an eight-bed adult psychiatric hospital with Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing programming, low-stimulation therapeutic spaces and negative-pressure rooms intended to support infection control for vulnerable patients.

Design and safety features were emphasized in planning and construction. The center’s interior avoids glass mirrors and does not include locking doors on the inside of patient rooms as part of environmental safety design, and it offers spiritually and culturally sensitive therapy spaces. EAPC Senior Architect Craig Clark said, "EAPC leveraged its experience from past crisis, residential treatment, and detox facilities for the innovative behavioral health project."

The project traces back to a December 2018 kickoff and a formal groundbreaking on Oct. 13, 2021, when Sanford Health and Beltrami County Health and Human Services representatives gathered in Bemidji, Sanford’s reporting said. Local coverage noted a ceremonial opening and indicated the center would begin accepting clients soon after that ceremony; Sanford’s location information identifies the facility as part of Sanford Bemidji of Northern Minnesota.

Clinically, the inpatient hospital serves adults over age 18 with acute, short-term psychiatric disorders who may need hospitalization or pose a danger to themselves or others. The EmPATH unit is explicitly framed to accept children, adults and families for emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment and healing, expanding local options beyond outpatient and residential services already offered in the system.

Sanford partnered with Beltrami County Health and Human Services and "other donors" to build the crisis center, and the Sanford Health Foundation Behavioral Health Fund is accepting local contributions at 1300 Anne St. NW, Bemidji, MN 56601. Sanford describes itself as a nonprofit and says donations remain local to support behavioral health programs, services and counselor training.

The Bemidji center joins a broader Sanford behavioral health continuum that includes the PrimeWest Residential Support Center, Sanford Health Behavioral Health Bemidji outpatient services, and Sanford Park Rapids Behavioral Health. With 24/7 operations and an EmPATH unit on site, Sanford positions the new center to expand urgent mental health and crisis stabilization capacity across northwest Minnesota, while partners and community leaders manage long-term staffing and funding to keep the beds available.