Sanford Health opens Vivaz Medical Spa in Bemidji

Dec. 9—BEMIDJI — Just in time for the holiday season, Sanford Health's Vivaz Medical Spa held its grand opening in Bemidji on Friday, Dec. 9.

Located at 2317 Bemidji Ave. N, formerly MedExpress

which closed in 2020,

the building has undergone extensive renovations to prepare it for its new life as a medical spa.

The spa's sleek and minimalist lobby was festively decorated for the grand opening, which brought together community members and business ambassadors for a ribbon cutting ceremony.

"This is kind of the big grand opening for us," shared Amy Magnuson, clinic director. "We're ready to be fully open to the community and to provide an array of services."

From facials to laser hair removal, the services that will be offered at Vivaz Spa will combine dermatology with esthetic treatments to help its clients achieve the results they'd like for their skin and bodies.

"It's an esthetic practice where we marry medicine and medical training along with esthetic training and cosmetic services," explained Nikki Pink, a nurse practitioner who specializes in dermatology.

Pink will be one of the medical professionals joining Vivaz Spa's team, alongside a team of trained estheticians.

Now that it's open, Vivaz Spa will help fill a gap in services identified by Sanford Health in the Bemidji area. Instead of traveling, clients can now receive skin treatments, fillers and hair removal closer to home.

"There was a gap in services that we could offer in this area. There are some places that do it, but not to the extent and ability that we have now," Pink said.

For Pink, combining the cosmetic and medical sides of dermatology will help her better provide services to her patients and clients.

"Working in medical dermatology I see a variety of clients that have had treatments that they've wanted, but we haven't had the ability to give a great option for them," she explained. "Now hopefully we'll get the two worlds kind of working back and forth together."

While the services provided at Vivaz aren't fully medical in nature, and won't be covered by medical insurance, they can help clients feel more confident in their skin, explained Magnuson.

"Youthful, healthy feeling skin can really help people feel good," Magnuson said. "We've been talking about this for a little while, about adding more advanced skin care procedures and things that patients are looking for."

Anyone is able to come in for a consultation, which will cost $50. If a prospective client decides to pursue a treatment, that $50 goes towards the cost of their procedure.

"The beauty of this is we can do a consultation with anybody who's interested," Magnuson explained. "Anyone can come in for a consultation if they think it might be helpful or they're unsure what they're dealing with."

Even with all of the energy of the grand opening, what Magnuson is anticipating the most is excitement from the community.

"I'm just excited to see the community be excited about it," she shared. "We've had a lot of interest in it, and it will allow people to not have to travel. I'm excited to see what we can do for clients."